The government and the private sector have joined forces to launch a cooperation body to foster AI data centres (DC) as a national strategic industry. Public-private cooperation is set to accelerate across the industrial ecosystem, from building AI DCs to localising core equipment and solutions, improving power and cooling efficiency, and expanding exports.

The Ministry of Science and ICT held a launch ceremony for the "AI DC Alliance" on July 29 at the Lotte Hotel in Seoul, with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Financial Services Commission and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. About 400 people from industry, academia and research attended.

The AI DC Alliance is a public-private cooperation body to systematically push the government's "AI DC national strategic industrialisation" strategy announced in June. Through the strategy, the government will build large-scale AI DCs with a capacity of 18.4GW and pursue export industrialisation of upstream and downstream industries, creation of AI DC clusters and construction of large-scale testbeds.

Three working groups for demand, supply and foundations will operate to build a full-spectrum AI DC ecosystem.

The alliance will be run under a co-chair system shared by the science ministry and the private sector. The first private co-chair will be Jae-heon Jung (정재헌), CEO of SK Telecom and chairman of the Korea Association for ICT Promotion.

The chair group includes 12 companies: SKT, Naver Cloud, Samsung SDS, NHN Cloud, LS Electric, LG Uplus, LG Electronics, GS, Kakao, KT, KTNF and FuriosaAI. It will operate around three working groups for demand, supply and foundations, and a task force for export industrialisation. The Institute for Information & Communications Technology Planning & Evaluation (IITP) will serve as secretary, supporting overall operations.

The demand working group will be centred on companies that build and operate AI DCs. Naver Cloud will lead the group, discussing ways to strengthen the competitiveness of local AI DC solutions and cloud technologies, conduct large-scale testbed demonstrations and promote cooperation between demand and supply companies.

The supply working group will be centred on IT and power and cooling solution companies. LG Electronics will lead the group, pursuing advancement and localisation of core technologies, and interoperability and standardisation between technologies and solutions.

The foundations working group, made up of associations and organisations, universities and law firms, will be led by Kakao. It will prepare measures to improve laws and institutions and foster specialised talent to build the AI DC ecosystem.

The export industrialisation task force will draw up strategies for overseas expansion by domestic AI DC companies. It will target the AI training market centred on global big tech and the AI inference market based on an open ecosystem. It will also prepare a plan to export a full package covering the entire process from construction to operations to demand countries such as the United Arab Emirates.

Deputy Prime Minister Bae Kyung-hoon said the alliance would be a key driver in raising national competitiveness in the AI DC industry, while stressing cooperation from the National Assembly and industry.

Bae said in a welcome address, "This project is not a festival held only within Korea, but an important starting point for creating the AI revolution together with the world."

He also said, "AI DC is a platform that encompasses models, infrastructure and services, and a factory that produces tokens," adding, "We must make it intelligent and supply it worldwide so that Korea can establish itself as an intelligence-exporting country."

The science ministry said it would actively support issues that arise during AI DC construction, including power and water supply and facility permits. Bae said, "If we miss the golden time of the next 3 to 5 years, we could lose the position we built as an IT powerhouse and a digital powerhouse," and asked alliance members to cooperate.

The National Assembly also pledged cooperation. Speaking in a congratulatory address, Gi-heon Song (송기헌), chairman of the National Assembly's Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee and a lawmaker from the Democratic Party, said, "The AI DC Alliance is an alliance in which everyone strives toward a common goal and a declaration that we can unite and win in global AI competition." He urged, "Let us combine semiconductors, servers and related technologies into one to create AI DCs that the world trusts and chooses."

Jung, the co-chair and SKT CEO, said he would develop the alliance into a cooperation foundation for domestic companies to enter global markets together.

Jung said, "The AI DC Alliance is the beginning of solidarity to lead global markets in the AI era," adding, "It will be the cornerstone for Korea to rise as an irreplaceable powerhouse in the AI DC industry."

The government plans to link technology development and demonstrations, institutional improvements and investment support around the alliance. The science ministry said it will work with relevant ministries to support securing power and water, improving permitting, training talent and demonstrating local technologies, and foster AI DCs as a new export industry.

The trade ministry will build a supply chain ecosystem that supports technological innovation and demonstrations, and market entry, for core AI DC materials, parts and equipment. The Financial Services Commission said it plans to provide funding for GW-class AI DC construction projects that require large-scale financing by using the National Growth Fund.