SK Group, AWS Collaborate for Cloud Computing Infrastructure Supporting AI Innovation

SK Group, South Korea’s second-largest conglomerate, announced its  partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to expand cloud infrastructure in South Korea.

SK Group, in partnership with AWS, will build a data centre in Ulsan, South Korea for a new AWS AI Zone that will help organisations in South Korea build innovative and new AI applications locally while leveraging the full breadth of AWS capabilities. The AI Zone will bring together multiple innovative capabilities, including dedicated AWS AI infrastructure and servers with world-class semiconductors, UltraCluster networks for faster AI training and inference, AWS services like Amazon SageMaker and Amazon Bedrock, and AI application services such as Amazon Q to advance Korea’s mission to be a world leader in AI.

On June 20, SK Group and AWS held a signing ceremony for the establishment of the AI Zone in Ulsan, where both parties pledged cooperation for the successful launch of the project. Chey Tae-won, Chairman of SK Group; Ryu Young-sang, CEO of SK Telecom; Prasad Kalyanaraman, Vice President of Infrastructure Services at AWS; Jaime Valles, Vice President and General Manager for Asia Pacific and Japan at AWS; and Ham Kee-ho, Country Managing Director of Korea at AWS attended the signing ceremony.

The data centre in Ulsan is scheduled to begin operations by 2027 and is expected to generate up to 78,000 direct and indirect jobs over time as the facility scales and operations expand. The AI Zone in Ulsan will combine industry-leading capabilities from SK Group and AWS through a 15-year partnership to provide top-tier network operations, a semiconductor supply chain, and efficient power infrastructure. This partnership is in addition to AWS’s long-term USD $5.88 billion (approx. 7.85 trillion won) planned investment in Korea by 2027.

SK Group will lead the construction of the data centre, while AWS will establish the AI Zone in Ulsan, which will deliver a broad selection of AWS’s leading AI and cloud capabilities to customers in South Korea.

The project brings together key SK Group affiliates, including SK Telecom, SK Broadband, SK hynix, SK Gas, SK Chemicals, SK multi utility, and SK AX, uniting the Group’s core competencies across ICT, energy, and semiconductors.

Above all, Ulsan is considered the optimal location for the establishment of the AI Zone, as SK Group possesses a stable gas supply network, advanced energy solutions, and ideal sites in the region. In addition, Ulsan offers a favorable environment for submarine cables and is highly supportive of industrial activities.

The AI Zone in Ulsan is designed to meet global performance and security standards. It features an AI-optimized computing system, ultra-high-density rack configurations, a hybrid cooling system combining air and liquid cooling, and a stable, robust network infrastructure. The SK Group and AWS partnership underscores a shared commitment to driving innovation in cloud computing infrastructure to support AI innovation.

SK Group and AWS are expanding their strategic partnership and plan to pursue wide-ranging collaborations that will benefit customers, giving them the ability to meet the demand for rapidly growing generative AI with compute, storage, database and edge computing capabilities.

The new cloud infrastructure is a part of the AI Infrastructure Superhighway strategy announced in 2024 by SK Telecom, which is involved in AI initiatives within SK Group. SK Group expects to establish a key hub for hyperscale AI infrastructure through the AI Infrastructure Superhighway project. SK Group plans to enhance data sovereignty and strengthen its global competitiveness in AI by processing AI workloads generated in South Korea directly within the country.

“When SK Group’s exceptional technical capabilities combine with AWS’s comprehensive AI cloud services, we’ll empower customers of all sizes, and across all industries here in Korea to build and innovate with safe, secure AI technologies,” said Kalyanaraman. “This partnership represents our commitment to Korea’s AI future, and I couldn’t be more excited about what we’ll achieve together.”

“We are pleased to combine the technological capabilities of SK Group with AWS, the world’s leading cloud provider, to establish a core infrastructure for a Korean AI ecosystem and create a powerful new engine for ‘AI highway,'” said Tae-won. “Moving forward, SK will continue to build an AI data center hub in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region by leveraging the unique strengths of each affiliate and our global partnerships.”