South Korea’s SK Group and Amazon Web Services (AWS) are collaborating to build a large AI data center in Ulsan.

Construction is set to begin in August 2025 at the Ulsan Mipo National Industrial Complex.

The project will be completed in phases.

The first phase, with a capacity of 40 megawatts, is expected to be operational by November 2027.

The facility will reach full capacity of 103 megawatts by February 2029.

It will utilize about 60,000 graphics processing units (GPUs), which is four times the capacity of the national AI computing center planned by the government, designed for 15,000 GPUs.

Industry officials project an economic impact of 25 trillion won (US$18.3 billion) and 78,000 new jobs, though exact investment figures remain undisclosed.

SK Telecom and SK Broadband, which have pledged 3.4 trillion won (US$2.5 billion) for AI initiatives, are expected to cover more of the project’s cost.

Ulsan was selected for its access to SK Gas’ LNG power plant, while AWS continues expanding its presence with data centers in Seoul and Incheon.

🔗 Source: The Korea Times

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ South Korea accelerates national AI infrastructure development race

This SK-AWS partnership reflects South Korea’s broader national push to become a global AI infrastructure leader.

The announcement comes amid South Korea’s ambitious plans to build one of the world’s largest AI data centers with a capacity of 3 gigawatts by 2028, expected to generate approximately $3.5 billion in annual revenue1.

The Ulsan facility’s 103-megawatt capacity and 60,000 GPUs make it four times larger than the national AI computing center currently planned by the South Korean government, positioning SK Group as a central player in the country’s AI infrastructure.

This pattern of large-scale AI data center development aligns with global trends, as data center demand is projected to increase by 50% by 2027, driven primarily by AI and cloud computing growth2.

Recent SK Group developments