SK Group, AWS to build South Korea's largest AI center
What's the story
South Korea's SK Group and Amazon Web Services (AWS) are joining hands to build the country's largest artificial intelligence (AI) data center.
The project will be based in Ulsan and will see an investment of around seven trillion won ($5.11 billion).
Of this amount, $4 billion will be contributed by AWS, the Science Ministry of South Korea has announced.
Project details
Data center to be operational by 2029
The construction of this AI data center is set to begin in September. It will be fully operational by 2029, with an initial capacity of 100MW.
However, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won has plans to expand the facility's capacity to 1GW in the future.
The goal is to make it a global hub catering to domestic AI demand.
Strategic importance
Chey meets president, talks about AI's importance
During a meeting with President Lee Jae Myung and tech CEOs, Chey stressed the strategic importance of AI for South Korea's growth.
He said the new data center could serve as an example that high-tech industries can thrive not just in metropolitan areas but also in provinces.
The announcement comes after media reports earlier this month about SK Group and AWS building a data center in South Korea.
Market impact
South Korea's AI-related stocks surge
The announcement of the new data center has positively impacted South Korea's AI-related stocks. SK Hynix shares rose over 3%, Kakao surged 11%, and LG CNS gained 9%.
The rally was fueled by policy optimism, pushing the benchmark KOSPI above a key milestone of 3,000 points for the first time in three-and-a-half years.