Initial Batch of Nvidia GPUs Arrives in Korea... "Accelerating AI Infrastructure Expansion"

Some of the 13,000 Units Secured Through the Supplementary Budget Have Arrived

The initial batch of graphics processing units (GPUs) negotiated between the government and Nvidia has arrived in South Korea. This shipment of GPUs will be supplied first to Naver, Kakao, and NHN.

President Lee Jae-myung is taking a commemorative photo with domestic company representatives before meeting Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, at the Gyeongju Hwabaek Convention Center, the venue for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, on October 31. From left to right: Lee Hae-jin, Chairman of Naver Board of Directors; Choi Tae-won, Chairman of SK Group; Jensen Huang; President Lee Jae-myung; Lee Jae-yong, Chairman of Samsung Electronics; Chung Eui-sun, Chairman of Hyundai Motor Group. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

According to the Ministry of Science and ICT on December 1, the government recently received part of the 13,000 units of GPUs (B200 and H200) it had planned to secure from Nvidia by the end of the year, and has brought them into the country. This batch was secured through the supplementary budget of 1.46 trillion won allocated in May. It is separate from the 260,000 units that Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang promised to supply during the 2025 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in October.

These GPUs will be used as infrastructure for artificial intelligence (AI) research and development (R&D) in academia, industry, and research institutes in Korea. By company, Naver Cloud will secure 3,056 units of H200, which is based on the Hopper architecture. Of these, 2,296 GPUs will be used by the government. NHN Cloud will receive 7,656 units of B200, which is based on the Blackwell architecture, and will operate them using a liquid cooling system. The government plans to launch a beta service within this year. Kakao will establish an efficient computing infrastructure with 2,424 units of B200. Of these, the government will utilize 2,040 units.

Starting with this initial batch, the government plans to accelerate the expansion of AI infrastructure by sequentially introducing the remaining GPUs. Recently, a "GPU Working Group" was launched, led by Vice Minister Ryu Jemyung of the Ministry of Science and ICT, and including Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motor, SK Telecom, and Naver Cloud. The working group aims to advance South Korea as a global AI powerhouse by discussing work plans from a national perspective and striving to achieve concrete results.