South Korea's GS Group Plans to Build Hyperscale AI Data Centers

en.Wedoany.com Reported - GS Group is planning to build hyperscale AI data centers in Donghae City, Gangwon Province, and Dangjin City, Chungcheongnam Province, South Korea. The Korean conglomerate recently established GS AI Infrastructure under its holding company and is in discussions with the government regarding the two sites.

GS Group's business spans energy and power, construction and infrastructure, retail and services, among other sectors. The sites in Donghae and Dangjin were chosen due to their proximity to the group's existing power assets. GS E&R's subsidiary, GS Donghae Power, operates a coal-fired power plant in Donghae, while GS EPS operates a liquefied natural gas combined cycle power plant in Dangjin.

Building AI data centers near these power plants could alleviate pressure on transmission infrastructure. Currently, the capacity utilization rate of GS Donghae Power's coal-fired plant is around 30%, partly due to delays in expanding transmission lines between Donghae and the Seoul capital area. Nearby AI data centers could create significant demand for idle power generation capacity.

However, these projects have not yet been finalized. A GS official stated that consultations with the government are still ongoing, and details such as site locations and project scale have not been determined.

According to registration information, GS AI Infrastructure's business scope covers the design, construction, operation, and leasing of data centers. If the projects proceed, GS Group can mobilize multiple affiliates, including GS Power, GS EPS, and GS E&R, which have power generation businesses; GS Construction and Xi C&A, which have experience in data center construction and operation; and GS Caltex, which can provide immersion cooling fluids for high-density AI data center environments.