SK Telecom's new AI data center breaks ground in Ulsan

SEOUL, Aug. 29 (Yonhap) -- SK Telecom Co. began construction of a large-scale artificial intelligence (AI) data center in the southeastern coastal city of Ulsan on Friday as part of its drive to lead the AI era.

A groundbreaking ceremony for SK AI Data Center Ulsan was held in the city located some 310 kilometers southeast of Seoul, with about 200 participants, including Chey Chang-won, chairman of SK Supex Council, the group's top decision-making body, SK Telecom CEO Ryu Young-sang and officials from partner Amazon Web Services (AWS).

The facility is set to start phased operations in late 2027.

SK Telecom said the new center will be more powerful and efficient than existing ones, using an AI-optimized graphics processing unit (GPU) system and hybrid cooling.

Developed from the design stage as a hyperscale AI-dedicated data center, it also incorporates AWS' technical requirements, securing global-level competitiveness.

The project lies at the core of SK Group's vision to make AI a new growth engine and position itself at the forefront of the AI-driven industrial transition.

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won has called for groupwide efforts to accelerate the group's "fourth quantum leap" by embedding AI across businesses that range from data centers and AI agents to robotics, manufacturing, energy and bio.

brk@yna.co.kr
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