SK Telecom, a South Korean telecommunications company, said on July 5 that it plans to build up to 15 gigawatts (GW) of AI data center capacity in South Korea, starting with a site under construction in Ulsan, to meet rising demand for AI computing.

The company said 5GW will open in stages from 2029, including more than 2GW in the southeastern Gyeongsang region and 1GW in the southwestern Jeolla region.

Funding is expected to come from SK Telecom’s investment, partner capital, long-term customer contracts, and project financing. It separately described Ulsan as a planned 1GW-scale project.

The proposed capacity is far larger than South Korea’s current installed data center base, which reached 591MW in 2023, and exceeds one forecast for the country’s information technology load capacity of 7.61GW by 2031.

The expansion also aligns with South Korean government efforts to steer data centers beyond the Seoul metropolitan area to ease power constraints and promote regional development.

SK Telecom said SK Group affiliates will contribute expertise in semiconductors, energy solutions, and data center construction and operations.

🔗 Source: SK Telecom