South Korea is eyeing Gangwon Province as the prime location for its largest data center cluster. Government sources have unveiled plans for a 1-gigawatt (GW) data center hub near Gangneung and Donghae cities, capable of accommodating up to 50 data centers with an average capacity of 20 megawatts (MW) each.
Gangwon Province is located on the east coast and renowned for its nuclear and coal-fired power plants. Once the cluster is operational, this will rival the Solaseado data center park in South Jeolla Province, also projected at a scale of 1GW. Authorities are striving to expedite site selection and cluster formation, aiming to finalize locations, including existing industrial zones and unused land, by the end of 2024.
Industry analysts anticipate substantial annual electricity cost savings, estimated at approximately 10 billion won ($750 million), particularly with 40MW-class data centers in the Gangneung-Donghae area. Recent legislative changes allowing local power plants to directly supply electricity to nearby consumers 
The region’s power plants have historically faced output constraints due to limited transmission capacity, resulting in around 20 percent output control. Direct electricity sales to nearby data centers are projected to reduce operational costs by up to 20 percent, making the area increasingly appealing for data center investment, bolstered by affordable real estate prices.
In W.Media’s exclusive interview with Joonhwa Song, Director at the Korea Data Center Efficiency Association (KDCEA), the discussion echoed the pivotal role of power availability and infrastructure in Korea’s data center market, aligning with recent developments in the country’s data center landscape.
Thus, this initiative aligns with the Korean government’s strategy to decentralize data centers nationwide, addressing power demand imbalances. Leveraging existing power infrastructure minimizes the need for costly and time-consuming construction of new transmission lines, providing a strategic advantage for the burgeoning data center industry in South Korea.