GS Group plans to build a 2.4-gigawatt AI data center campus at the Bukpyeong Second Industrial Complex in Donghae, Gangwon Province.
The total investment is about 30 trillion won ($19.4 billion). Including AI computing equipment such as graphics processing units and HBM, the overall project value is estimated at around 120 trillion won.
The announcement was part of President Lee Jae Myung's "Three Major Mega Projects Public Briefing" on large-scale investment plans in advanced technology sectors, held Monday afternoon. GS Vice Chairman Hong Sun-ki attended the briefing.
Residents of Donghae welcomed the news, while some in Gangneung briefly wondered whether the plan signaled a change to their city's own AI investment plans — concerns that eased after they learned the Gangneung project remains on track.
Woo Sang-ho, governor-elect of Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province, said the Gangneung AI data center project he intends to pursue after taking office is "separate from the Donghae AI data center GS Group is developing."
During the June 3 local elections, Woo had pledged to attract an AI data center worth between 20 trillion won and 70 trillion won to the Gangneung area. He said Monday that GS Group's Donghae investment would bring no changes or setbacks to the advanced technology investment planned for Gangneung.
GS Group plans to complete 1.2 gigawatts of data center capacity by 2028, then add another 1.2 gigawatts the following year, bringing the Donghae campus to 2.4 gigawatts in total. At that scale, the project would rank among the largest single data center developments in the world.
As competition to build large GPU clusters intensifies amid the rapid spread of AI services, stable power supply and the ability to secure suitable sites have emerged as the key factors determining data center competitiveness. Privately led AI infrastructure of this scale is expected to broaden the domestic AI industry ecosystem and lay the groundwork for South Korea to emerge as a global AI hub.
GS Group has already established GS AI Infrastructure, a subsidiary under its holding company GS Co., dedicated to developing and operating AI data centers. The group is mobilizing its power, construction and operational capabilities to advance the project.
Separately from GS Group's plans, Woo noted that Gangwon Province is included among the regional clusters — covering the central, Daegu-North Gyeongsang, Honam and Gangwon areas — that the government and SK Group announced Monday as candidates for additional data center sites. He added that the company committed to building the Gangneung AI data center has not withdrawn its investment, so the project faces no major disruption, and that the site has not yet been announced because the company is still working to meet certain conditions, including substation requirements.
"If anything, having two major conglomerates commit to building large-scale AI data centers is a step forward for Gangwon Province," Woo said.
abc@heraldcorp.com
