According to South Korean media outlet EtNews, South Korea’s National AI Computing Center (KOACC) broke ground today at the Solar City Data Center complex in Haenam County, Jeollanam-do, with a target to be completed and operational in 2028. The total investment amounts to 2.5 trillion won (note: approximately 11.838 billion yuan at the current exchange rate).
According to reports, the project is funded by Samsung SDS together with NAVER Cloud, Samsung C&T (note: Samsung C&T Corporation), Samsung Electronics, Kakao, KT Group, Gwangju City in Jeollanam-do, and others, forming the KOACC consortium.
In terms of ownership, Samsung SDS holds a 30% stake and is the largest shareholder; government institutions including South Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT, the Financial Services Commission, and the National Growth Fund collectively hold 29%; NAVER Cloud holds a 26.1% stake.
KOACC will be fully responsible for the construction and operation of the National AI Computing Center. The consortium has submitted an electricity usage application to Korea Electric Power Corporation and is advancing work such as the construction of water supply pipelines.
Once completed, the data center will provide high-performance, cost-effective AI computing infrastructure to global markets. The government will also address innovative needs such as AI transformation in the public sector and promote the development of South Korea’s AI ecosystem.
In addition, the South Korean government plans to establish an R&D zone at the data center to provide a validation environment for domestically produced NPUs (neural processing units), thereby supporting the development of South Korea’s semiconductor industry.