"AI Data Centers Need Regional Decentralization...Government-Level Incentives Required"

"Need for Dedicated Power Supply System for AI"

There has been a suggestion that government-level incentives are necessary to increase the construction of artificial intelligence (AI) data centers in regional areas. Since the operation of AI data centers (AIDC) is expected to significantly increase power demand, the idea is to build centers in regions with well-established power infrastructure, rather than in the already saturated Seoul metropolitan area.

Ha Minyong, Head of the AI Data Center Business Division (Vice President) at SK Telecom, attended the "Sustainable AI Data Center Construction Strategy Seminar" held at the National Assembly on the afternoon of the 7th and stated, "Whether or not it is possible to build AI data centers capable of large-scale power supply will determine the success or failure of the business."

Participants are taking a commemorative photo at the "Sustainable AI Data Center Construction Strategy Seminar" held at the National Assembly on the afternoon of the 7th. Photo by Lee Myunghwan

Ha Minyong explained that as the full-fledged AI era begins, the importance of power infrastructure has also grown. This is because AI semiconductors, servers, and cooling facilities included in AIDC consume a large amount of electricity. Ha Minyong said, "As AI develops rapidly, securing the power needed to operate AI data centers is becoming increasingly important," and added, "From a business perspective, when selecting locations for AI data centers, whether stable power supply can be secured is a key condition."

He also proposed that government-level incentives are needed to promote the decentralization of data centers to regional areas. This is because most companies prefer the metropolitan area due to geographical accessibility. He said, "If economic incentives that operators can tangibly experience, such as electricity rate discounts, local tax benefits, or subsidy support, are provided when establishing data centers in regional areas, it would help attract them."

He emphasized that building related infrastructure such as power facilities is also important. The recent decision by SK Group and the world’s largest cloud provider Amazon Web Services (AWS) to build a large-scale data center in Ulsan was also due to Ulsan's already established power infrastructure. Ha Minyong explained, "Ulsan has a supply chain (value chain) capable of providing energy, and the development of telecommunications technology allows for the construction of communication infrastructure connecting to the metropolitan area, which served as an advantage."

He also suggested that a power rate system dedicated to operating facilities, including AIDC, is necessary. He said, "Separate from the national basic power plan, I believe a supply system dedicated to providing power for AI is also needed."

The seminar was hosted by the office of Park Chungkwon, a lawmaker from the People Power Party. In addition to Ha Minyong, attendees included Park Jongbae, Professor of Electrical Engineering at Konkuk University; Lee Dongsoo, Director at Naver Cloud; Chae Hyogeun, Executive Director of the Korea Data Center Council; Kim Kyungman, Director of AI-Based Policy at the Ministry of Science and ICT; and Choi Sungjun, Director of Power System Innovation at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Jung Dongwook, Professor of Energy Systems Engineering at Chung-Ang University, served as the moderator.