The odds have increased that an ultra-large national artificial intelligence (AI) computing center worth 2.5 trillion won will be built in Haenam, South Jeolla. With IT service corporations Samsung SDS applying for the project alone, momentum is effectively pointing to Haenam being confirmed as the host location.
According to South Jeolla Province on the 21st, the Ministry of Science and ICT closed applications for the national AI computing center the same day, and a Samsung SDS consortium submitted the only application. The consortium is said to have reviewed Gwangju, South Jeolla, and North Jeolla, before selecting Haenam Solaseado in South Jeolla as the final site.
The national AI computing center is a state-led mega project with about 2.5 trillion won to be invested. Haenam Solaseado received high marks for low electricity rates, ample land, and renewable energy-based infrastructure. The fact that Samsung SDS chose the site solely on locational conditions also strengthened Haenam's bid.
South Jeolla Province has prepared to attract the project through close consultations with the Korea Electric Power Corporation and Samsung SDS. South Jeolla Gov. Kim Yung-rok met directly with Samsung SDS officials on the 14th and delivered a written pledge saying, "If South Jeolla applies as a candidate site, we will provide active support," while Vice Gov. for Economic Affairs Kang Wi-won met with KEPCO President Kim Dong-cheol to discuss power infrastructure support plans.
Last month, Samsung SDS asked South Jeolla Province about the timetable for building a 154 kV substation within Solaseado and the possibility of providing adjacent land, and on the 10th of this month, it discussed measures to secure power supply and industrial water through an on-site inspection.
South Jeolla Province expects that, following the attraction of the OpenAI and SK data centers to Solaseado, the addition of a state-led AI computing center will further accelerate the creation of an "energy new town."
The final location of the national AI computing center will be confirmed after a technology and policy review in Nov. (phase one) and a financial assessment in Dec. (phase two), with construction slated to begin in the first half of next year alongside the launch of a special purpose company (SPC).