[Edaily Reporter Han Kwangbeom ] As the government pushes to build a massive AI data center (AIDC) ecosystem worth 1,000 trillion won by 2035, competition among major domestic corporations to develop AI infrastructure is heating up.
As the volume of “tokens”—the text units processed by generative AI—surges alongside the spread of AI services, securing the computing infrastructure to support this has emerged as a key factor in corporate competitiveness.
According to government and industry sources on the 30th, companies are accelerating the construction of “AI factories” that encompass AI computation and operations, going beyond simply building data centers.
Naver (NAVER(035420)) anticipates that demand for token processing will rise rapidly as it expands its AI services, such as the recently launched “AI Tab,” and is partnering with NVIDIA to build a global AI factory with a capacity of at least 1 GW.
The core hub is “Gak Sejong,” the country’s largest hyperscale data center located in the Chungcheong region. By implementing NVIDIA’s AI platform, the company plans to first build 55 MW of AI infrastructure in the first half of 2027 and expand it to 200 MW by 2028. In the long term, it plans to build a gigawatt (GW)-class AI factory based on this foundation.
Naver intends to utilize the secured infrastructure not only for its own AI services but also for a global AI infrastructure business, in partnership with NVIDIA, to provide a bundled package of GPUs and data center operational expertise to overseas customers, including those in Southeast Asia.
#GS Holdings has established a subsidiary, GS AI Infrastructure, and is developing a 2.4GW AI data center campus in Donghae City, Gangwon Province. The company plans to complete the first phase—1.2GW—by 2028 and expand to 2.4GW by 2029. A key strength is its competitive power supply secured by utilizing land near power plants.
Samsung SDS (SAMSUNG SDS CO., LTD.(018260)) is focusing its efforts on building national AI infrastructure. A consortium involving Samsung SDS recently completed the establishment of a special-purpose company (SPC) for the National AI Computing Center project. The strategy involves investing a total of 2.5 trillion won to build a National AI Computing Center with a capacity of 15,000 AI semiconductor wafers on Solasi Island in Haenam, South Jeolla Province, by 2028, thereby laying the foundation for “sovereign AI” to reduce dependence on overseas big tech companies.
The government is also expanding its support in line with this large-scale private investment. An official from the Ministry of Science and ICT stated, “We will spare no effort, in collaboration with relevant ministries, to ensure that administrative support—including securing land, power, and water supplies, as well as obtaining various permits and licenses—is provided swiftly,” adding, “Separately, we are actively reviewing plans to include financial support for AI data centers in the 2027 budget.”
The industry believes that success in the AI infrastructure competition will hinge not on the sheer size of data centers, but on operational technology. An industry official remarked, “An AI data center is not merely a space for installing servers, but a ‘token factory’ that stably processes the tokens used by generative AI,” adding, “Full-stack software capabilities for efficiently operating GPUs and HBM will ultimately determine competitiveness.”
