• SK Telecom has long held ambitions to build and run AI datacentre facilities in South Korea and in international markets
• Now it has created a dedicated business development company with a budget of $510m to ‘lay the groundwork’ for AI infrastructure deployments
• The new unit will focus on aspects such as site acquisition and power infrastructure

Further strengthening its claims to be a true AI-native player, SK Telecom (SKT) has created a new subsidiary company, SK Hyper, that will spearhead its efforts to build a 15 gigawatt (GW) AI datacentre (AI DC) empire. 

SK Hyper is, in effect, a business development vehicle for SKT, which will retain 100% ownership of the new subsidiary. SK Hyper’s budget – 750bn won ($510m) over four years – will be allocated for specific foundational elements – securing sites, constructing and operating substations, acquiring customers and commercialising the AI DC business. 

With the help of the new subsidiary, SKT expects to “accelerate the build-out of AIDCs to help achieve the government’s mega project”. Specifically, it aims to build out 5GW of AI datacentre capacity by 2029 in its first phase of construction, with the ultimate aim of expanding to 15GW of capacity by 2035. 

SKT, which recently established an AIDC Integrated Development Division to consolidate its “full‑stack AI capabilities” under one unit, plans to build out AI infrastructure on a regional basis within South Korea, “starting with a GW‑class AIDC cluster in Ulsan and adding additional GW‑class AIDCs in the Chungcheong and Honam regions,” noted the company.

This all chimes with the broader strategy unveiled at the start of this month by SKT’s parent, SK Group, which plans to invest 1,000tn won ($642bn) in AI datacentre facilities and supporting infrastructure as part of a strategy to position SKT, and South Korea, as a major regional and global AI hub – see The strategy behind SK Telecom’s massive AI factory rollout.

Chung Suk-geun, who is currently head of SKT’s AI CIC (company-in-company) and the AIDC Integrated Development Division, has been appointed as the CEO of SK Hyper. 

“SK Hyper’s role is to turn SK Group’s blueprint for Asia’s AI Infrastructure Hub into reality,” he noted. “Through systematic and rapid execution, we will secure core infrastructure and customers, and contribute to Korea’s advancement to AI G3,” he added, referring to South Korea’s stated aim to become one of the world’s top three AI nations alongside the US and China. 

SKT noted in this announcement (in Korean) that South Korea has “recently announced the ‘Korea’s Great Leap Forward 3 Mega Projects’ policy to foster core infrastructure industries, such as semiconductors, AI DC, and physical AI. In particular, Korea is evaluated to possess a unique ecosystem optimised for the AI ​​DC business, including stable power supply conditions and the ownership of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) production bases.” It added that “SKT will support SK Hyper in gradually expanding its core AI DC capabilities and revenue models so that it can ultimately leap forward as an ‘Asian AI infrastructure hub operator’.” 

- Ray Le Maistre, Editorial Director, TelecomTV