Beyond China DeepSeek... AI Computing Center to Open in 2027

National AI Computing Center Construction Project Briefing Session

The National AI Computing Center will begin services this year and officially open in 2027. Companies participating in the project can raise funds exceeding 600 billion KRW at the lowest government bond interest rate level, and core data center technologies developed with government support can also be utilized in building the center.

On the afternoon of the 7th, the Ministry of Science and ICT held a briefing session on the National AI Computing Center construction project at the Bankers Hall in Jung-gu, Seoul, aiming to leap into the top three AI powerhouse countries. The National AI Computing Center project aims to secure advanced Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) and achieve 1 exaFLOPS (EF; the ability to perform 10^18 floating-point operations per second) computing power by 2030. The service will start early in 2025, with the center opening in 2027.

Song Sang-hoon, Director General of the Information and Communication Policy Bureau at the Ministry of Science and ICT, is delivering a greeting at the National AI Computing Center Construction Project Briefing on the afternoon of the 7th. Provided by the Ministry of Science and ICT

Song Chang-hoon, Director of the Information and Communications Policy Office at the Ministry of Science and ICT, stated in his opening remarks, "We will promote the establishment of the National AI Computing Center through a public-private partnership special purpose company (SPC) to encourage private infrastructure investment and flexibly respond to environmental changes." The SPC will have 49% private sector equity, with both public and private sectors investing 200 billion KRW each over the next six years. The initial capital can be proposed by private investors ranging from 1 billion to 100 billion KRW.

If funds are insufficient, the 'Semiconductor Facility Investment Support Special Program,' a low-interest loan program from the Korea Development Bank, can be utilized. This program supplies a total of 17 trillion KRW over three years, with 2.5 trillion KRW allocated exclusively for AI computing infrastructure. In the first year, 4.25 trillion KRW will be supplied to the semiconductor and AI sectors, and 625 billion KRW to AI computer infrastructure. The loan interest rate can be lowered to the minimum government bond interest rate level. Since this program supports long-term projects, the loan period can be up to 15 years.

Kang Jun-hyung, a manager at the Korea Development Bank, explained, "The key point is that loans can be supported at low interest rates equivalent to the government bond interest rate level," but added, "Interest rates are determined through the same process as existing loan assessments. Credit risk premiums may be added depending on credit consultation, credit evaluation, and collateral conditions."

Additionally, the government plans to provide incentives through large-scale demand creation. The government announced that it will generate large-scale demand through the AI Computing Infrastructure Special Committee under the National AI Committee. Furthermore, the outcomes of the 'K-Cloud Technology Development Project' led by the Ministry of Science and ICT will be applied to the center. This project has secured core cloud data center technologies specialized for low-power, high-performance AI semiconductors.

Private participants wishing to apply for the project must submit a letter of intent by 5 PM on the 28th to receive the application guidelines containing detailed evaluation criteria and additional points. The guidelines will be sent intermittently starting from the 17th. Inquiries can be made from the 17th until the 7th of next month, and responses will be regularly posted on the National IT Industry Promotion Agency (NIPA) website from the 4th to the 28th of next month. The submission period for project participation plans is scheduled for May 19?30.

The briefing session was hosted by the Ministry of Science and ICT along with the Ministry of Economy and Finance, Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Financial Services Commission, Korea Development Bank, Industrial Bank of Korea, Korea Electric Power Corporation, and NIPA. On the private sector side, investors, domestic and international big tech and platform companies, and AI and software companies attended.