[Featured Stocks] Data Center Stocks Benefit from 'Service Suspension' at Kakao... Surge Together

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Myunghwan Lee] Due to the service outage incident at Kakao, stocks of companies operating data centers have surged significantly from the early trading hours on the 17th. This incident has highlighted the importance of data center construction, leading to heightened expectations of benefits for related stocks.

As of 9:22 a.m. on the same day in the KOSPI market, Comtec System, a network solution company, was trading at 692 KRW, up 17.09% from the previous trading day. At the same time, NHN was trading at 23,000 KRW, up 6.98%, and Lotte Data Communication was trading at 24,200 KRW, up 5.22%. Other data center and network-related companies such as Duzon Bizon (4.17%), Daou Technology (2.33%), and NHN (4.19%) also showed a unified upward trend.

Related stocks are also rising in the KOSDAQ market. At the same time, Data Solution was trading at 5,400 KRW, up 29.81% from the previous day, approaching the 30% price limit. Zoom Internet was trading at 3,645 KRW, up 27.89%, and Openbase was trading at 2,730 KRW, up 14.71%. Additionally, network-related stocks such as Moa Data (13.64%), Gabia (10.70%), and Korea Information & Communications (10.49%) are showing double-digit growth rates.

The rise in data center-related stocks is attributed to the fire at the SK Corporation C&C data center in Pangyo on the 15th, which caused a simultaneous suspension of major Kakao services including KakaoTalk. Kakao, which uses SK C&C's data center as its main center, faced an unprecedented temporary service outage due to the fire, highlighting the importance of data center construction and security. As a result, expectations of indirect benefits are focusing on data center and network-related stocks.

The government has also emphasized the importance of data center construction and accident response measures. President Yoon Suk-yeol stressed on the 16th regarding Kakao's service outage incident, "Not only must the exact cause be identified, but accident prevention measures including the installation of twin data centers (duplication), as well as the establishment of reporting and response systems in case of accidents, must be thoroughly implemented."

Kim Eun-hye, Chief of Public Relations at the Presidential Office, also conveyed that President Yoon instructed to strengthen public-private cooperation and prepare management plans applying corresponding principles. Chief Kim explained, "I think the public and private sectors will discuss together to re-examine safety obligations for data centers and supplement them to fit the current reality."