Companies scramble to launch data centers for AI, cloud services in Korea

Gak Sejong [Courtesy of Data Center GAK]

Companies in South Korea are engaged in fierce competition to build data center infrastructure, which serves as the backbone of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud services.

The rapid increase in data usage in various industries such as AI, cloud, 6th generation (6G) mobile communication, autonomous driving, and virtual worlds, including augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), have led to an explosive growth in demand for data centers.

Korean companies have been up front in launching their own data centers to cater the demand.

According to sources from the information technology (IT) industry on Sunday, Korean platform giant Naver Corp. is making last-minute preparations to launch its hyperscale data center, Gak Sejong, next month.

Gak Sejong is Naver’s second in-house data center that is under construction in Sejong City in South Chungcheong Province.

Built without external investments, it is considered a core infrastructure for the company’s super-sized AI, HyperCLOVA X, and future robotics technology.

Gak Sejong, which is six times larger in size than its first data center GAK Chuncheon in Gangwon Province, will cover a vast area of 293,697 square meters and is set to accommodate over 600,000 server units.

It is the largest corporate data center in Asia to be established in Korea.

Another platform giant Kakao Corp. completed its first in-house data center in Ansan City, Gyeonggi Province, last month.

The new facility, called Kakao Data Center Ansan, is capable of housing 120,000 computers for servers and is expected to be fully operational in the first quarter of next year after stabilization work.

Kakao Data Center Ansan, which broke ground in 2021, is classified as a hyperscale data center as it is capable of operating more than 100,000 servers.

Amazon Web Services Inc. (AWS), the U.S. leader in the cloud market, announced a plan this month to invest $5.88 billion in Korea’s cloud computing infrastructure by 2027

Industry attention is focused on whether AWS, which has been operating data centers through leasing, will speed up the establishment of its own data centers in the country, including buildings and communication networks, through this investment.

NHN Cloud has been promoting the establishment of data centers in various regional locations in line with its strategy to establish regional bases for data centers.

Among them, NHN Gwangju National AI Data Center is set to be completed in Gwangju City, South Jeolla Province, this month.

In-house data centers enable maximized security and stability for cloud services as they optimize system operation from the building design stage.