South Korea forms public-private alliance to build 18.4GW of AI data center capacity
South Korea's government and major domestic information technology, power, and cooling corporations have established the "AI Data Center Alliance," a public-private initiative to build 18.4 gigawatts of artificial intelligence data centers (AIDC) and support related industries' overseas expansion.
The Ministry of Science and ICT launched the alliance on July 29 with more than 400 participants from the Ministries of Trade, Industry and Resources; Land, Infrastructure and Transport; and the Financial Services Commission, alongside industry, academia, and research representatives at Lotte Hotel Seoul.
The alliance implements a government plan released in June to designate AI data centers as a national strategic industry. Beyond constructing large-scale AIDC facilities, the initiative aims to develop upstream and downstream sectors including power, cooling, and communications equipment; establish clusters and test beds; and facilitate overseas exports.
The organization operates under a co-chair structure between the Ministry of Science and ICT and the private sector. Jung Jai-hun, CEO of SK Telecom and head of the Korea Information & Communication Promotion Association, serves as the first private co-chair. Twelve corporations will join the chair group, including Naver Cloud, Samsung SDS, SK Telecom, NHN Cloud, LG Electronics, LG Uplus, KT, Kakao, LS Electric, and FuriosaAI.
The alliance comprises three divisions—demand, supply, and foundation—plus a task force for export industrialization.
The demand division, led by Naver Cloud, will develop verification and commercialization plans for domestic cloud and AIDC solutions, focusing on corporations that construct and operate data centers. It will leverage large-scale test beds to help domestic companies build delivery records and references for overseas market entry.
The supply division, headed by LG Electronics, will drive localization of core technologies including IT equipment, power and cooling systems, and materials, parts, and components. A key priority is establishing compatibility and standardization frameworks enabling technologies and solutions from different corporations to integrate within data centers.
The foundation division, led by Kakao, will address legal and institutional reforms and professional development. Participating organizations—including relevant associations, universities, and law firms—will identify operational bottlenecks such as permits, land acquisition, and power supply, then propose policy improvements.
The export industrialization task force will formulate strategies for domestic corporations to form consortia and enter global markets dominated by Big Tech, specifically the AI training data center and inference infrastructure sectors. It will also promote packaged projects bundling design, construction, equipment supply, and operations services for export to markets including the United Arab Emirates.
The Financial Services Commission is reviewing funding mechanisms through the Public Growth Fund for major data center investments. The Ministry of Trade and Industry plans to support technology development, verification, and market development within the AIDC ecosystem for materials, parts, and equipment, including power and cooling systems.
Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Science and ICT Bae Kyung-hoon said: "We will ensure data center investment is not confined to expanding buildings and servers, but is consolidated into industry fostering that strengthens competitiveness across design, construction, operations, and cloud technologies."