[Edaily Reporter Han Kwangbeom ] The government is positioning AI as a core pillar of its national growth strategy and is moving full steam ahead with the “Three Mega-Projects for Korea’s Great Leap Forward.” In particular, it has designated AI data centers (AIDCs)—the core infrastructure of the AI era—as a national strategic industry and is pushing for investments totaling 1,000 trillion won, including the construction of a massive infrastructure project with a total capacity of 18.4 GW through public-private partnerships by 2035.

To foster AI as the core growth engine for an industrial leap forward, the government is designating AI data centers (AIDCs) as a national strategic industry and pursuing 1,000 trillion won in public-private investment. The plan is to build AIDCs—the core foundation of AI services—across the country to establish the nation as the largest AI hub in the Asia-Pacific region and realize an “AI-based society.”

On the 29th, at the “Public Briefing on the Three Mega-Projects for Korea’s Great Leap Forward” held at the Blue House State Guest House, the government announced a plan to build ultra-large-scale AIDCs totaling 18.4 GW by 2035. The strategy is to significantly expand AIDCs—the core infrastructure responsible for AI computing—to become the largest AI hub in the Asia-Pacific region by 2030.

The project will be carried out in two phases. First, approximately 550 trillion won will be invested by 2029 to build 8.4 GW of AIDC capacity, followed by an additional 10 GW by 2035, bringing the total to 18.4 GW. The total investment is expected to reach approximately 1,000 trillion won.

The government will also promote balanced regional development by decentralizing data centers, which are currently concentrated in the Seoul metropolitan area, and distributing them across the country. Using the AIDC construction as an opportunity, the government plans to expand the localization of IT equipment—such as servers, networks, and storage—as well as related industries like power and cooling solutions. Furthermore, targeting the rapidly growing AI inference market, it intends to foster a unique ecosystem centered on domestically produced NPUs from companies such as FuriosaAI, Rebellion, DeepX, and Mobilint.

Ultimately, the plan is to develop AIDC into a “token factory” that produces “tokens”—the basic units of AI services—thereby creating an environment where every citizen can utilize AI at an affordable cost. The established infrastructure will also be linked to physical AI hubs being developed primarily in the Saemangeum and Daegu-Gyeongbuk regions to enhance competitiveness in the robotics industry.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and ICT Bae Kyung-hoon stated, “AIDC is a ‘token factory’ that produces up to 400 trillion tokens for every 1 GW of capacity brought online,” adding, “We will foster AIDC as a national strategic industry to realize the world’s fastest ‘AI-based society,’ where every citizen can utilize AI without financial burden.”

Investment plans from private companies were also unveiled. GS Holdings(078930)will build a 2.4-GW AIDC in the Gangwon region, while Naver (NAVER(035420)) will construct a 1-GW AIDC in the Central region (Sejong + α). SK Group will distribute data centers across major regions nationwide, including 1 GW in Ulsan, 1 GW in Honam, 1 GW in the Central region, and 2 GW in the Daegu-Gyeongbuk region.

Choi Tae-won, Chairman of #SK Group, stated, “While data centers in the past were facilities for storing data, data centers in the AI era are factories that produce intelligence,” adding, “Led by SKTelecom, we will build a total of 15 GW of AIDCs by 2035 to create South Korea’s national AI infrastructure.” He also outlined a plan to first build 5GW in regions where power and land have already been secured as the first phase, followed by an additional 10GW in the second phase.

The government has also prepared measures to ensure a stable supply of electricity and water for the operation of large-scale AIDCs. It plans to disclose information on substations with spare capacity in the 345kV grid to support site selection and expedite power system impact assessments for AIDCs located outside the Seoul metropolitan area. Furthermore, to address the surging electricity demand in the AI era, the government will utilize various energy sources—including solar, wind, nuclear power, small modular reactors (SMRs), and the transition to LNG and hydrogen—and will also promote the construction of a bidirectional, distributed power grid centered on renewable energy.

Kim Seong-hwan, Minister of Climate, Energy, and Environment, stated, “Semiconductors, AIDCs, and physical AI all require a stable supply of electricity and water,” adding, “We will ensure the timely supply of at least 8 GW of power to AIDCs in the Chungcheong, Yeongnam, Honam, and Gangwon regions, and introduce a dedicated electricity rate system for AIDCs to enhance their competitiveness in attracting investment.”