By 2026, the South Korean data center market will have observed investments amounting to USD 5.2 billion, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 7.72% starting from 2021. Foreign investors and companies have a yearning to establish and expand operations on Korean soil, with the country’s robust infrastructure providing the necessary scaffolding for corporations to build upon.
A few days back, a Singapore-headquartered company, Empyrion DC, unveiled a ready-to-commence green project in the Gangnam district of Seoul. Through employing in-house expertise in energy management and forefront technology, the project is poised to meet world-class energy standards.
Read more at: https://w.media/empyrion-dc-to-develop-40mw-data-center-in-gangnam-seoul/
Similarly, on June 8, 2022, data centre service provider ST Telemedia Global Data Centres (STT GDC) announced plans to construct a second data centre site in Gasan-dong, Seoul.
This data centre site is set to comprise 31, 205 square metres of gross floor area and deliver a development potential of 30 megawatts of IT power.
Read more at: https://w.media/st-telemedia-global-data-centres-announces-plans-for-second-data-centre-site-in-south-korea/
Digital New Deal
The Korean government revealed the Digital New Deal initiative last year to spearhead the nation’s digital transition, with the goal of generating 903,000 new jobs by 2025. Comprised of 12 objectives spread across four sectors, targets include establishing smart healthcare and developing digital infrastructure within the educational sector.
The policy has resulted in growing demand by companies for further digital infrastructure, as the country continues to solidify its place as a major technological hub in the region.
Further implementations by the government include the approval of the metaverse industry as a platform for innovation and berthing jobs. A 3.9 billion-won metaverse platform to allow access to public services virtually for citizens is also underway, all of which fall under the Web3, a blanket term covering multiple technologies.
New Technology
The surge of investment and interest in data center technology can be further observed in the groundbreaking innovation of the High Bandwidth Memory 3 (HBM3) Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM) chip, developed by Korea’s SK Hynix. The company designs and manufactures chips and sensors used in data centers, and the HBM3 boasts having the fastest processing speed and biggest capacity in the world. These improved statistics spell a 78 percent increase in data processing speed over its predecessor, the HBM2E.
Mass production of the HB2ME began only in July 2020, with the unveiling of the HBM3 coming about a mere year later. Besides benefitting high-performance data centers, the HBM3 will also offer a welcome boost to machine learning platforms aimed to advance artificial intelligence, and complement supercomputing programs geared towards climate monitoring and drug development.
Past Difficulties
Despite these advancements, the mercurial rise in importance of the data center industry has not been without its challenges. In July 2021, the launch of a data service project was delayed by a surge in Covid-19 cases, as well as a shortage of talent. Originally scheduled for launch the following month, the Korean government-led MyData initiative’s intent was to authorise the collection and study of personal data, with consumer consent, across the finance sector by licensed service providers.
The programme however, was delayed by a shortage of IT engineers for the project, due to a pandemic-caused demand for engineers focused on growing local online and mobile services. The pilot programme was ultimately launched at the end of the year, with full operation ensuing at the start of 2022, a full five months later than its planned introduction.
Innovation and Advocacy
Over the coming years, the data center industry in South Korea looks to rise in significance, with the republic looking to make continued strides in the field through local and international backing. As with many other industries, achieving standards in sustainability have been a key focus, and this is no different for data centers.
Innovation within the industry will materialise through a plethora of forms, be it through policy or technology. Coupled with this new age of exploration however, should come an equal level of advocacy and enthusiasm for sustainability.
Join the conversation at W.Media’s Asia Pacific Cloud & Datacenter Awards programme, where enterprise users and industry experts will come together to share their insights and opinions on data centre projects and hyperscale cooling innovations. If you are interested in nominating or sponsoring, visit our Awards Page for more information. Nominations are open until 5th August.
