The South Korean data center industry is experiencing unprecedented and transformative growth this year. This is driven by a surge in demand for high performance computing, evolution of hyperscale digital infrastructure, an ambitious national Artificial Intelligence (AI) policy, and aggressive expansion by domestic and global operators. Today, South Korea is strengthening its position as one of Asia-Pacific’s most dynamic data infrastructure hubs.
Growth in capacity and investment
Seoul remains the epicenter for South Korea’s data center ecosystem, currently hosting over 520 MW operational capacity with an additional 638 MW in development. In Q4 2025 the country expects to add 450 MW new capacity with the majority concentrated in Seoul and Jeollanam-do. This marks the beginning of a five-fold increase in national capacity projected by 2028, according to a market report from Cushman & Wakefield.
This expansion is supported by US$ 7 billion investment in infrastructure commitments with over 70,000 new racks expected to be added by 2030. Vacancies in Seoul’s core markets have dropped to approximately 6 percent caused by high demand and limited availability as per a June 2025 report titled South Korea Existing & Upcoming Data Center Portfolio by ResearchAndMarkets.com.
Hyperscale momentum led by global partnerships
A partnership between SK Group and Amazon Web Services (AWS) announced in June 2025, envisions a US$ 5.1 billion investment in a hyperscale AI data center located in Ulsan to establish an AI Zone and expand cloud infrastructure. Construction is scheduled to begin in September with capacity planned to reach 1 GW making this the largest single-site data center project in South Korea to date.
In 2022 Equinix and Singapore’s GIC sovereign wealth fund, had expanded the digital infrastructure company’s xScale footprint in Seoul with facilities SL2x and SL3x. The company said in a press release that this new joint venture will bring the global xScale data center portfolio to more than US$ 8 billion across 36 facilities, an expected capacity greater than 720 MW. Equinix also launched a new retail International Business Exchange (IBX), SL4 that supports enterprise and hybrid workloads.
Domestic scale up
Kakao completed its data center on the Hanyang University campus in Ansan with robust disaster recovery architecture. As reported previously by W.Media, LG Uplus Corp., South Korea’s telecom giant, completed its second hyperscale data center situated in the southern Seoul suburb of Anyang, Gyeonggi Province in October 2023. The data center spans 40,450 square meters across three underground and nine above-ground floors, housing over 200,000 servers. One of its standout features is its cooling energy efficiency, which is twice as effective as its predecessors.
According to a report in The Korea Economic Daily, Samsung SDS and SK Broadband continue to expand their national presence, contributing to the Korea Data Center ecosystem that has 45 operational colocation data centers with a comparable number in development.
Colocation demand
In 2024 the South Korean data center colocation market generated revenue of US$ 2,637.7 million and is projected to reach US$ 7,228.5 million by 2030. The market is anticipated to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18.6 percent between 2025 and 2030. The retail colocation services remains the dominant sector as the leading revenue contributor in 2024, and wholesale leasing continues to gain momentum as AI and Fintech firms require greater power and scalability according to a report from Grand View Research.
Innovation in energy strategy
The South Korean government is encouraging innovation in energy sourcing. According to media reports, US$ 1.7 billion project directed by Korea South-East Power CO and Samsung C&T in Dangjin-si will integrate hydrogen fuel cells and battery storage with a large-scale hyperscale facility.
Government policy for AI and decentralization
The Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) has announced that the government had approved the Proposal for Presidential Decree on the Establishment and Operation of the National Artificial Intelligence Committee. Following this, MSIT will begin the official formation of the National Artificial Intelligence Committee.
AI technologies, including generative AI, are advancing rapidly and are anticipated to have a substantial economic impact as they permeate all industrial sectors. The Korean government has identified AI and semiconductors as one of the three major game changers for the nation’s future technological competitiveness to elevate the nation to AI G3 status.
This Presidential Decree reflects these perspectives, aiming to consolidate public and private sector capabilities to spearhead innovation across the national AI sector by establishing a presidential committee. Notably, the President will chair the Committee, ensuring a unified national effort.
Conclusion
With global hyperscalers such as AWS, Microsoft, and Google Cloud expanding their footprint across the country, and Korean tech giants Samsung, and Kakao, building up in-house capacity, South Korea is responding to its domestic demand for AI and digital infrastructure, and positioning itself as a regional hub of high performance computing and AI in Northeast Asia.
New facility openings, energy partnerships, and AI deployments will continue to reshape the country’s data center landscape. As infrastructure capacity scales and regulation modernizes, South Korea is all set to become a global digital infrastructure and AI superpower.
Sign up for KRCDC now!
All this and more will be up for discussion at W.Media’s Korea Cloud & Datacenter Convention (KRCDC 2025) that will take place on September 19, 2025 at COEX Convention & Exhibition center, Seoul, South Korea. This event will explore the latest trends and developments in the South Korean data center industry, and bring together experts, thought leaders and key stakeholders to discuss the challenges and new opportunities that are shaping future digital ecosystems.