- The groundbreaking ceremony was held on August 3rd at the Solaseado Data Center Park in Haenam. 

- The center aims to build the National AI Computing Center equipped with 15,000 AI chips by 2028. 

【Relevant National Task】

20. Establishing an “AI Highway” to Become a Top Three Global AI Powerhouses (AI G3)

The Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister: Bae Kyung-hoon) held a groundbreaking ceremony for the National AI Computing Center on August 3rd at the Solaseado Data Center Park site in Haenam-gun, Jeonnam-Gwangju Special Metropolitan City and announced the launch of full-scale construction.

The National AI Computing Center, a key infrastructure for the AI Highway, plans to secure advanced AI computing resources to create an environment for AI research, development, and services, promote the wider adoption of domestically produced AI chips, and support the growth of Korea’s AI ecosystem.

A call for proposals to select an operator for the project ran from September 8 to October 21 last year, and the Samsung SDS-led consortium, which proposed Haenam Solaseado as the site for the center, was the sole bidder. Following technology and policy evaluations, financial reviews, and approval of an investment from the National Growth Fund, the Samsung SDS-led consortium was ultimately selected.

* Samsung SDS, Naver Cloud, Samsung C&T, Kakao, Samsung Electronics, Clush, KT, Jeonnam-Gwangju Special Metropolitan City, and Seonamhaean Enterprise City Development

In addition, to pool private capital and expertise based on public seed investment, Korea AI Computing Center (KOACC, CEO: Ahn Jung-tae) was established on June 10, 2026 through a public-private joint investment by MSIT, the Financial Services Commission (FSC)’s National Growth Fund, and the Samsung SDS-led consortium.

KOACC will take full charge of building and operating the National AI Computing Center.

The groundbreaking ceremony was attended by Bae Kyung-hoon, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of MSIT; members of the National Assembly including Park Jie-won, Han Jun-ho, and Ahn Do-geol; Min Hyung-bae, Mayor of Jeonnam-Gwangju Special Metropolitan City; Ahn Jung-tae, CEO of KOACC; Lee June-hee, CEO of Samsung SDS; Kim Yu-won, CEO of Naver Cloud; and representatives from the government, the National Assembly, local governments, the private consortium for this project, Korea Development Bank (KDB), Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK), and the National IT Industry Promotion Agency (NIPA).

The ceremony consisted of the opening declaration, business progress report, welcoming remarks and congratulatory speeches by distinguished guests, a vision declaration, a promotional video screening, and a ceremonial event marking the groundbreaking.

Following the ceremony, KOACC will begin full-scale efforts to build the National AI Computing Center.

To secure the electricity and water needed for the center’s operation, KOACC is smoothly preparing the necessary infrastructure including completing an application for electricity supply with Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) and constructing water supply pipelines. KOACC also plans to carry out construction of new buildings as well as facility construction for operating high-performance AI servers in parallel to complete the National AI Computing Center by 2028 without delay.

In particular, in 2027, before the center’s completion, some of the AI computing resources to be deployed at the National AI Computing Center will be made available in advance through Samsung SDS’s data centers. This is intended to proactively address the urgent demand for AI computing infrastructure from industry, academia, and research institutions.

Once the National AI Computing Center is established, it will support the growth of Korea’s AI ecosystem by providing world-class AI computing infrastructure at reasonable prices to industry, academia, and research institutions, and by actively supporting government-led AI innovation efforts.

Furthermore, MSIT plans to establish an R&D Zone within the National AI Computing Center to provide an environment for designing domestic AI chips and verifying prototypes. It also plans to support the wider adoption of domestically produced AI chips by putting performance-verified products into commercial service.

In addition, in cooperation with agencies including FSC, MSIT plans to actively consider policy support such as demand matching and funding that are needed to ensure the smooth early-stage operation of the National AI Computing Center.

“Through the National AI Computing Center, the government and the private sector will join forces to simultaneously secure advanced GPUs and promote the development of domestically produced AI chips, thereby contributing to securing Korea’s full-stack AI competitiveness and helping the country emerge as an AI infrastructure hub in Asia,” Deputy Prime Minister and Minister Bae said. “We expect that the Haenam Solaseado Data Center Park will emerge as the central hub of the three mega-projects, leveraging its abundant renewable energy and scalable location, ultimately becoming a model of balanced development where the region and the nation grow together,” he added.

For further information, please contact the Public Relations Division (Phone: +82-44-202-4034, E-mail: msitmedia@korea.kr) of the Ministry of Science and ICT.

Please refer to the attached PDF.