South Korea is positioning itself as a central pillar of the global artificial intelligence revolution, announcing a staggering investment roadmap aimed at securing both the hardware and the infrastructure required for the AI era. The South Korean government recently unveiled plans to attract approximately 550 trillion won ($398 billion) in initial investment to develop AI-specific data centers. This initiative is part of a broader, more ambitious goal to reach a total capacity of 18.4 gigawatts (GW) by 2035, with total cumulative investment needs expected to exceed 1,000 trillion won.
The strategy is divided into two distinct phases, leveraging the combined might of South Korea’s industrial giants and its technological innovators. In the first phase, a consortium including SK Group, GS Group, and Naver will deploy 550 trillion won to establish 8.4GW of capacity by 2029. The second phase will see a massive scaling of these efforts, with SK Group specifically planning to triple its AI data center footprint from 5GW to 15GW, ensuring the nation can handle the exponential growth in compute demand.
Complementing this infrastructure surge is a move to fortify South Korea’s traditional stronghold: semiconductor manufacturing. Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Kim Jung-kwan stated that the country aims to double its DRAM production capacity within the next five years. This vertical integration—owning both the high-performance memory production and the data centers that house them—is designed to create a self-sustaining ecosystem that insulates the South Korean economy from global supply chain volatility.
This aggressive push comes as global competition for AI supremacy intensifies, with the United States and China pouring billions into localized compute power. By signaling such a massive long-term financial commitment, Seoul is attempting to lure international capital and talent while ensuring that its homegrown tech leaders, such as Samsung and SK Hynix, remain the preferred partners for global AI firms. The plan reflects a strategic shift from being a mere component supplier to becoming a comprehensive global hub for AI services and data processing.