Korea-based conglomerate SK Group yesterday signed Memorandums of Understanding with Vietnamese agencies to advance Vietnam’s artificial intelligence (AI) industry through its full stack AI offering, according to the firm’s press statement today. SK Group’s SK Telecom and SK Innovation have separately inked MOUs with Vietnam’s Nghe An Province and the National Innovation Center (NIC) respectively to collaborate to build the country’s AI infrastructure and ecosystem, as well as develop a stable power supply.
This is SK Group’s first overseas foray and is a culmination of the Korea–Vietnam Summit, where both countries agreed to collaborate on future growth sectors such as AI, semiconductors, and energy.
Nghe An is a major economic hub in north-central Vietnam while the NIC serves as the country’s national innovation hub, leading initiatives in AI, semiconductors and investment promotion.
SK Innovation will explore opportunities in energy solutions, including supplying electricity to the data center and building dedicated generation facilities connected to the Quynh Lap LNG Power Project. SK Telecom will focus on developing, building, and operating the AIDC.
In February, SK Innovation was selected as a developer for the Quynh Lap LNG power project in Nghe An Province, together with PV Power, a power generation subsidiary of Vietnam’s state-owned oil and gas group PVN, and local company NASU. The project is a large-scale energy infrastructure initiative that includes the development of a 1,500-MW gas-fired combined cycle power plant, an LNG terminal, and a dedicated port, with construction scheduled to begin in 2027 and completion targeted for 2030.
“Drawing on SK Group’s experience in operating large-scale power generation and diverse energy solution businesses, we will ensure the successful development of the local power infrastructure,” said Choo Hyeong-wook, President & CEO of SK Innovation.
Jung Jai-hun, President and CEO of SK Telecom, said, “AI data centers are key infrastructure that underpins the growth of the AI industry. Building on SK Group’s accumulated capabilities in the development, construction, and operation of AI data centers, we will further refine a collaboration model tailored to the Vietnamese market.”
SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won said, “AI will play a critical role in Vietnam’s continued growth. SK Group has a portfolio spanning the entire AI ecosystem—from energy and semiconductors to AI models and applications—and we will leverage this to make tangible contributions to the development of Vietnam’s AI industry.”
The signing ceremony was held in Hanoi yesterday in the presence of Kim Jung-kwan, Minister of Trade, Industry and Resources of Korea, and Ngo Van Tuan, Minister of Finance of Vietnam.
In May 2025, w.media reported that KT, formerly known as Korea Telecom, planned to set up an AI data center in Vietnam.