Yoon vows to build colossal data center complex in Gangwon

President Yoon Suk Yeol pledged to invest 360 billion won ($274 million) in Chuncheon, Gangwon, to create a massive data center complex in the city as a part of a vision to enable the province to become a hub of high-tech industries and tourism.

President Yoon Suk Yeol, center, takes part in a groundbreaking ceremony to build a hydrothermal energy cluster in Chuncheon at a gymnasium at the Gangwon State government building in Chuncheon, Gangwon, on Monday. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

President Yoon Suk Yeol pledged on Monday to invest 360 billion won ($274 million) in Chuncheon, Gangwon, to create a massive data center complex in the city as a part of a vision to enable the northern province to become a hub of high-tech industries and tourism.

"Data is money," Yoon said during a town hall meeting hosted at the Gangwon State government building, where he outlined plans to create a "Gangwon Data Valley," comparable to a data center hub in Doha, Qatar.

He further promised deregulation measures to support such efforts during the 19th public livelihood debate, focused on developing Gangwon, which was elevated as a self-governing province in June last year.

Investing in a data industrial complex in Chuncheon will "lay the foundation to attract leading data companies" and create about 7,300 quality jobs in the process, Yoon said.

Yoon noted that in Doha, LNG (liquefied natural gas) is "available at extremely low prices, so they use it for air conditioning," helping the city attract many data companies with its cheap natural resources.

He stressed that Gangwon likewise has "tremendous competitiveness" because it has the natural resources to cool down servers as data companies must operate at full capacity 24 hours a day.

The data industrial complex in Chuncheon is expected to be built by 2027 and use hydrothermal energy from a reservoir in a nearby dam for cooling.

To this end, Yoon called for the creation of a hydrothermal energy cluster in Chuncheon. This cluster would use cold water from the depths of the Soyang Dam reservoir to cool data centers and reuse the heated water in nearby smart farms.

He said that energy from the Soyang Dam in Chuncheon could be used to "create a competitive data industry at a low cost comparable to that of oil-producing countries."

Yoon said Gangwon should become a "special economic self-governing province" and called for raising the incomes of its residents.

Establishing the Gangwon Data Valley and growing this as a "national strategic industry" will also advance the province and "play a big role in the economic development of Korea," Yoon added.

Yoon unveiled plans to reorganize Gangwon's mainstay industries into high-tech industries and promised to "lift unnecessary regulations."

He pledged support for the early success of the "333 Project" proposed by the Gangwon provincial government, aiming to add 30,000 digital industry workers, 3,000 digital companies and a 300 percent sales growth.

He also promised support for creating an industrial research site and helping medical, biotech and IT companies move to Chuncheon as part of a vision to build a corporate innovation park.

Once realized, he said Chuncheon would be "reborn as a growth base for the biotech and IT fields, creating more than 40,000 jobs."

Yoon highlighted that 260 billion won will be invested into Gangwon's Gangneung to build a bio national industrial complex.

He also said that Gangwon's Donghae and Samcheok will be developed into future hydrogen energy hubs.

Yoon said that over 300 billion won will be invested over five years to build a hydrogen plant using LNG in Samcheok and to create a hydrogen-related facility, parts manufacturing and research and development base on the east coast to create a globally competitive hydrogen cluster.

Likewise, he called for improving the infrastructure of medically vulnerable areas such as the Gangwon counties of Inje, Yanggu and Hoengseong. He said that MRIs (magnetic resonance imaging) and CTs (computed tomography), available only at hospitals in large cities, will also become available at local general hospitals by easing requirements to install specialized medical equipment.

Yoon promised deregulation measures for the tourism industry and plans to build additional cable cars in the mountainous province, reflecting residents' wishes.

He referred to a project on Mount Seorak to build a 3.5-kilometer-long cable car from Seoraksan National Park's Osaek District in Yangayang County to Kkeutcheong, a peak near the top of Mount Seorak.

"Once the cable cars become fully operational in 2026, they are expected to attract more tourists and bring over 130 billion won in economic benefits to the local economy," Yoon said, calling it a "long-waited dream of over 40 years" for locals.

The cable car project, which dates back decades, has been a source of controversy over the years, with environmentalists voicing concerns over damage to the local ecosystem, but construction finally began in November last year.

Yoon also promised deregulation efforts in state-owned forest regions in the province to facilitate the development of tourist trains and camping sites that could further foster the tourism industry.

Likewise, he said that the Great Train Express Line B, or GTX-B, will promote connectivity to the Gangwon region.

Some 500 people, including Yoon, government officials, businesspeople, college students, local residents and construction executives, attended a groundbreaking ceremony to build a hydrothermal energy cluster in Gangwon and celebrate Chuncheon's first step toward becoming the data industry capital later that day.

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]