SK, AWS to build Korea’s largest AI data center in Ulsan

SK Telecom's Gasan AI Data Center in Seoul (SKT)

SK Group is partnering with Amazon Web Services to build South Korea’s largest artificial intelligence data center in Ulsan, with both companies investing several trillion won, according to industry sources Monday.

The two companies are set to kick off the project this month, with a groundbreaking ceremony scheduled for August. The mega-sized facility will be built on a 36,000-square-meter site in the Mipo Industrial Complex in Ulsan, sources said.

Once completed, the facility, powered by 60,000 graphics processing units, will have a power capacity of 103 megawatts, making it the country’s largest AI infrastructure, sources said. The project will be developed in two phases: The first phase aims to provide 40 megawatts by November 2027, with full 103-megawatt capacity operational by February 2029.

SK Telecom, the telecommunications arm of SK Group, will be in charge of the project. CEO Ryu Young-sang of SK Telecom previously unveiled plans to construct a hyperscale AI data center powered by 60,000 GPUs at the Mobile World Congress in Spain in March.

While the exact investment sum has not been revealed, SK Telecom said earlier this year it is committed to investing 3.4 trillion won in AI infrastructure through 2028, with a substantial portion expected to go toward this project.

In April, SK Telecom and its subsidiary SK Broadband purchased the land from SK Chemical for 28.3 billion won ($20.8 million).

SK appears to have chosen Ulsan as the site, considering its proximity to SK Gas’ liquefied natural gas combined heat and power plant, ensuring a stable supply of large-scale electricity essential for data center operations. The facility is also capable of utilizing LNG cold energy for data center cooling.

AWS, the world’s largest cloud provider, has been expanding its footprint in Korea. It currently runs a data center in Seoul and began constructing its second facility in Incheon’s Seo District in late 2023. The company has pledged to invest 7.85 trillion won in Korea’s cloud computing infrastructure by 2027.