South Korea announced investment in Honam region AI data center infrastructure to build large-scale AI compute capacity.

South Korea's government is investing in artificial intelligence infrastructure in the Honam region to establish a new industrial hub beyond the Seoul metropolitan area, according to The Korea Herald. The strategy combines data centers with advanced manufacturing and region-specific industries.

Lee Min-woo, head of the Industrial Growth Office at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, framed the initiative as part of the government's response to slowing potential economic growth and the rapid restructuring of global industry around AI. He emphasized that regional development is critical for the country's future industrial competitiveness.

The government strategy targets three major areas: semiconductors, physical artificial intelligence, and AI data centers, alongside region-specific growth industries. Honam will receive substantial investment in computing infrastructure, with SK planning to invest 70 trillion won in a 1-gigawatt AI data center. Samsung SDS is planning a 210-megawatt facility with investments of approximately 17 trillion won.

South Korea aims to build data centers domestically so that local companies can train and run their own AI models, with the government seeking to develop an AI business ecosystem around this infrastructure. Lee Min-woo stressed that data center development should generate demand for power supply equipment, cooling systems, and related solutions, while requiring the localization of adjacent industries. Honam's identified growth areas include future energy systems, advanced semiconductor manufacturing, AI and autonomous driving, next-generation vaccines, and precision medicine.

Lee Min-woo characterized the development of South Jeolla Province and Gwangju as a critical test of the country's capacity to emerge from low growth and strengthen its position in the AI transformation.