Seoul: SK Telecom Co., the telecommunications arm of SK Group, has announced an ambitious plan to establish South Korea as a leading artificial intelligence (AI) data center hub for the Asia-Pacific region. This initiative, spearheaded by CEO Ryu Young-sang, aims to position the nation as one of the top three global leaders in AI development and infrastructure.

According to Yonhap News Agency, Ryu unveiled the “AI infrastructure superhighway” vision during the SK AI Summit in Seoul. The plan focuses on creating a comprehensive AI infrastructure that integrates AI data centers, graphic processing units as a service (GPUaaS), and edge AI. As part of this initiative, SK Telecom intends to construct a hyperscale AI data center in South Korea with an initial electricity capacity exceeding 100 megawatts, which is expected to expand to a gigawatt level in the future.

The company plans to launch a testbed for the AI data center in Pangyo, just south of Seoul, next month. This facility will feature the latest chips
developed by Nvidia Corp. and state-of-the-art technologies related to AI chips and data centers. Additionally, SK Telecom will convert its data center in western Seoul into an AI data center and collaborate with global cloud provider Lambda to offer GPUaaS starting in December.

Furthermore, Ryu announced that SK Telecom will invest 100 billion won (approximately US$72.9 million) to develop a sovereign AI tailored to the specific requirements of the Korean market beginning next year. The company also aims to advance edge AI technology, which combines telecommunications networks and AI computing, to apply the AI infrastructure on the forthcoming sixth-generation network.