Samsung SDS Visits Haenam 'National AI Computing Center' Site: "To Be Built Swiftly and Without Setbacks"

About 30 Representatives Including Naver Cloud Visit Site
Inspection of Planned Construction Area and Infrastructure Assessment
"Foundation for a Global Leap... Commitment to Successful Execution"

The Samsung SDS consortium, which is participating in the bid for the National Artificial Intelligence (AI) Computing Center, made its first official external appearance by visiting the site of the National AI Computing Center in Haenam, South Jeolla Province on January 7.

Image of the National AI Computing Center site. Provided by Samsung SDS

The National AI Computing Center, which will require a total investment of more than 2 trillion won through public-private funding and policy finance loans, is a facility that provides high-performance computing resources (such as GPUs) for the development of large-scale AI models and large-scale data processing to businesses, universities, and research institutes. It is a key infrastructure supporting the government’s initiative to become one of the world’s top three AI powerhouses.

To build the government’s “AI highway,” the National AI Computing Center plans to secure more than 15,000 advanced GPUs by 2028 and continue expanding its capacity through 2030.

Since participating alone in the National AI Computing Center development project in October last year, the Samsung SDS consortium has formed a task force for establishing a special purpose company (SPC) and has been preparing for the establishment of the SPC, data center design (including permits and approvals), and business planning (such as developing the business model).

During the visit, 30 representatives from consortium members-including Samsung SDS, Naver Cloud, and the local government of South Jeolla Province-visited Solaseado, the selected site for the National AI Computing Center, to inspect the planned location for the data center, review the results of the ground survey, and comprehensively assess the surrounding infrastructure, including electricity and telecommunications.

Meanwhile, the National AI Computing Center project passed technical and policy evaluations in November last year and is currently undergoing a financial review. The Samsung SDS consortium plans to proceed with the establishment of the special purpose company after the financial review and the selection of the preferred bidder are completed and the implementation agreement is signed.

A representative of the Samsung SDS consortium explained, “This on-site visit was intended to reaffirm the consortium’s commitment to building the National AI Computing Center swiftly and without setbacks, and to proactively assess the site conditions before advancing the project.”

The representative added, “We will pool the capabilities of all consortium members to successfully carry out the project so that the National AI Computing Center can become the foundation for Korea’s AI research and industrial ecosystem to make a global leap forward.”