Shinsegae Group's IT subsidiary, Shinsegae I&C, was strong early on the 17th. Buying is seen as driven by news that Shinsegae Group was selected as the first "artificial intelligence (AI) export program" of the U.S. Donald Trump administration and will build the country's largest AI data center.
As of 9:31 a.m. that day on the Korea Exchange, Shinsegae I&C was trading at 18,630 won, up 1,220 won (7.01%) from the previous session.
Chung Yong-jin, chairman of Shinsegae Group, and Misha Laskin, chief executive officer (CEO) of U.S. AI startup Reflection AI, on the 16th (local time) signed a "strategic partnership memorandum of understanding (MOU) for building the Korea sovereign AI factory" at the National AI Center in San Francisco.
Under the agreement, Shinsegae I&C will build a 250-megawatt (MW) data center in Korea. That is enough electricity for about 250,000 households to use at the same time.
Chung said, "AI will comprehensively transform every field, including future industries, the economy and human life, making future industries without AI impossible to survive," adding, "The data center construction collaboration project with Reflection AI will not only serve as a foundation for Shinsegae's future growth base but also contribute to advancing the AI ecosystem across domestic industries."