Kakao’s first self-owned data center features strong disaster response

Dedication ceremony for Kakao Data Center Ansan. [Courtesy of Kakao]

Kakao Corp. has completed construction of its inaugural self-owned data center and is preparing for its full-scale operation in South Korea.

Kakao announced on Tuesday that it held a dedication ceremony for Kakao Data Center Ansan, located on Hanyang University’s ERICA Campus. The ceremony was attended by over 100 individuals, including Kakao CEO Hong Eun-taek, Hanyang University President Lee Ki-jeong, Ansan Mayor Lee Min-Geun, Ansan City Council Vice Chairman Lee Jin-boon, key local government officials, representatives of construction site technicians, staff from local welfare facilities, and student representatives from the campus.

Kakao Data Center Ansan marks the platform giant’s first self-owned data center, whose construction began in 2021. With a floor area of 47,378 square meters, it has the capacity to house a total of 120,000 servers to classify as a hyperscale data center capable of operating over 100,000 servers. The data center boasts a storage capacity of 6 exabytes (EB) and is slated to begin full-scale operations in the first quarter of 2024 after operational systems are installed and stabilization tests are completed.

According to Kakao, the data center has systems designed to withstand natural disasters and emergencies, featuring a four-tier fire response system for large-scale fires and incorporating earthquake-resistant design elements. To safeguard against power outages, it has a dual redundancy system for power, cooling, and communication infrastructure.

Kakao also prioritized environmental sustainability in the center’s design by introducing renewable energy infrastructure, high-efficiency facilities, and a system for recycling waste heat from servers. During the dedication ceremony, CEO Hong emphasized the data center’s significance, saying that “Kakao’s commitment and promise to ensure the well-being of everyone’s daily lives through a perfectly responsive data center, capable of addressing any disaster or incident, is a cornerstone of our services.”