Woo Sang-ho says residents' warm welcome to SK and GS has been 'a great source of strength'
Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province Governor-elect Woo Sang-ho said Tuesday that he would provide comprehensive support through a dedicated task force to accelerate the ground-breaking of GS Group and SK Group's planned investments of 100 trillion won ($64.9 billion) or more in the province, including the construction of AI data centers. "A project of this scale means not just Donghae but all of Gangwon Province will develop," Woo said. "We will provide full support through a task force to get construction started as quickly as possible."
Speaking at a press briefing at the provincial government office, Woo said he had been involved in the projects from their early stages during his time as senior presidential secretary for political affairs at Cheong Wa Dae. "I was familiar with these projects from the beginning," he said, adding that he had been the first in the country to announce them publicly during the election campaign.
He said GS Group's investment would range from 30 trillion won to 120 trillion won, while SK Group's would range from 20 trillion won to 70 trillion won. He noted that the upper figures — 120 trillion won and 70 trillion won — reflect an expanded scenario that includes the development of supporting industrial complexes, and do not yet account for the economic ripple effects that domestic and foreign partners would generate in Gangwon Province after the data centers open. He suggested the actual economic impact could be even larger once the facilities are up and running.
Woo said GS Group was able to choose Donghae as its site partly because the group already owned land there and because water and electricity supply issues were resolved relatively quickly. SK Group, he added, had clearly expressed its intention to invest in Gangwon Province and had no shortage of water or power, but had yet to finalize a site because a substation issue — specifically, the infrastructure needed to store and then distribute electricity — remained unresolved.
Woo said the provincial government, Gangneung city and Korea Electric Power Corp. were in ongoing talks to resolve the substation issue, and that KEPCO had conveyed a positive message.
He also reaffirmed that there had been no change to SK Group's investment plans, and that Gangwon Province was firmly among the five locations SK had designated Monday for its mega-project to build AI data centers.
Woo said he would focus on creating the conditions that would allow both conglomerates to break ground and complete construction as early as possible.
"The companies have declared their investment intentions and have already briefed the president, so what remains is moving quickly," he said. "It is crucial that Donghae, Gangneung and the rest of Gangwon Province keep pace with what the companies need and process all permits and approvals through a one-stop service."
On the employment impact of the Donghae data center, Woo said the project was expected to generate about 20,000 person-days of work during construction and around 3,000 permanent jobs once completed. He added that a second phase would focus on attracting user companies to the site and developing supporting industries.
"Some investment projects in other cities and provinces have yet to even settle on a location," he said. "We would not have been able to move this fast if we had not been working on this for a long time. We will make sure Gangwon Province breaks ground first and contributes to the economic development of the entire province," he added.
Woo said he hoped every city and county in the province would welcome the project, given its scale and broad impact across the region. "This is a mega-project worth more than 100 trillion won that will have a major effect across the entire province. I will make sure the benefits are distributed evenly across all 18 cities and counties," he said. He added that successfully delivering a global project in Gangwon Province would prompt other companies to take notice of the region.
abc@heraldcorp.com
