The government and corporations on the 29th presented plans at the “National Briefing on the Three Mega Projects for Korea’s Great Leap Forward,” held at the State Guest House of the Blue House in Seoul, to geographically divide future industries—from artificial intelligence (AI) data centers to robots, batteries, shipbuilding, substrates, and displays—by region and disperse them nationwide. President Lee Jae-myung stated that day, “Semiconductors, physical AI, and AI data centers are the three pillars for a great leap forward,” emphasizing that “only a race against time will ensure survival.”

Samsung announced that it will invest a total of KRW 2,655 trillion in Korea, allocating KRW 625 trillion—excluding investments in the Pyeongtaek and Yongin semiconductor clusters—to the Honam, Chungcheong and Yeongnam regions. Excluding the Gwangju semiconductor cluster (KRW 400 trillion), approximately KRW 225 trillion will be deployed into AI infrastructure, robots, batteries, displays and components across the three regions. SK stated it will invest about KRW 1,000 trillion of its total KRW 2,100 trillion in AI data centers.

● AI infrastructure in Honam, robots and batteries in Yeongnam

Of the KRW 425 trillion that Samsung will invest in the Honam region, the portion excluding semiconductors (KRW 400 trillion) will focus on AI infrastructure and future energy. Samsung SDS will build an AI data center in Solar City, Haenam, South Jeolla Province, to secure a “sovereign AI” infrastructure that does not rely on overseas big tech. This AI data center will support AI transformation in the finance, defense and public sectors, as well as research and development (R&D) at universities and research institutes, and industrial physical AI.

Samsung C&T will invest in zero-carbon energy infrastructure in the Honam region, including solar power facilities, nuclear power-based hydrogen production facilities, and a green hydrogen demonstration complex. In Gwangju, Samsung Electronics will build a digital twin innovation hub for smart home appliances and production facilities for heat pumps and air-conditioning units for AI data centers. The Chungcheong region, where Samsung will invest KRW 140 trillion, will serve as a components hub led by displays. Samsung Display will invest KRW 67 trillion in Asan to establish production bases for next-generation smartphone displays such as foldables and ultra-high-resolution micro-displays.

Samsung will invest KRW 60 trillion in the Yeongnam region. In Gumi, Samsung Electronics will establish a “mother factory” (primary production base) for smartphones and mass-production lines for humanoid robots. In Busan, Samsung Electro-Mechanics will expand production of automotive multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) and AI package substrates. In Ulsan, Samsung SDI will set up facilities for solid-state batteries and batteries for battery energy storage systems (BESS), while in Geoje, Samsung Heavy Industries will develop a base for construction of high value-added vessels.

● 8.4GW of AI data centers… Ulsan to become ‘AI capital’

The AI data centers to be built by SK constitute a mega project into which about KRW 1,000 trillion will be invested by 2035. SK plans to disperse AI data centers, which have so far been concentrated in the greater Seoul area, across multiple regions to secure AI infrastructure while promoting regional revitalization. Centered on SK Telecom, SK will phase in AI data centers with a total capacity of 15GW.

In the first phase, the government and the private sector will build nationwide AI data centers with a capacity of 8.4GW and a value of about KRW 550 trillion by 2029. Under the plan, SK will be responsible for 5GW in regions including Ulsan, Honam and Chungcheong, GS will build 2.4GW in Donghae, Gangwon Province, and Naver will construct 1GW in Sejong. Construction will begin in the first half of 2028 (January–June), with operations starting from 2029. SK has decided to break down its 5GW into 0.5–1GW units and distribute them across multiple regions, and the campus that GS will build in Donghae, with an investment of about KRW 30 trillion, will be the largest in Asia.

SK’s starting point is Ulsan. SK Telecom, together with Amazon Web Services (AWS), is building the Ulsan AI data center, targeting the second half of 2027 for the start of operations. SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won said, “Data centers, which have been for simple storage, will become ‘AI factories’ that produce intelligence in the AI era,” adding, “Korea will be transformed from a country that consumes AI to one that exports it.”

In the second phase, if SK adds another 10GW by 2035, SK’s AI data centers alone will reach 15GW. Including the portions of GS and Naver, the newly built AI data centers will total 18.4GW, equivalent to about 32% of the entire Asia-Pacific region’s 58GW capacity. The government projects that this will enable Korea to emerge as the AI hub of the region.

Robots, which are the core of physical AI, will have Saemangeum and the Daegu–North Gyeongsang area designated as the two main production bases at the government level. In Saemangeum, a robot foundry and a parts cluster will be established, spurred by investments from Hyundai Motor, while in Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province, a robot test field will be created.

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