The Korea Data Center Council (KDCC) is joining forces with the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) to expand foreign investment in South Korea's artificial intelligence data center industry. The aim is to combine global investment networks with domestic data center expertise to strengthen cooperation between overseas investors and South Korean companies and address difficulties arising during investment, including securing electricity and obtaining permits.
The Korea Data Center Council said on November 5 that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with KOTRA at the Parnas Hotel in Seoul on November 4 to cooperate on attracting foreign investment in data centers.
The agreement was arranged to support the construction of AI data centers in South Korea by attracting overseas capital as demand for investment in data center infrastructure expands with the growth of the AI industry. The signing ceremony was held as a side event of Invest Korea Summit 2026.
According to JPMorgan, about $5.5 trillion is expected to be invested in global AI data center infrastructure by 2030. As AI model development and expanding services increase demand for high-performance computing infrastructure, securing capital for data center construction is also emerging as a major challenge.
The South Korean government has also selected AI data centers, alongside semiconductors and physical AI, as the Three Mega Projects for South Korea's Great Leap Forward and is pursuing a substantial increase in investment. The concept is for the private sector to invest a combined 550 trillion won to build AI data centers with total capacity of 8.4 gigawatts, with government support and development of the upstream and downstream industrial ecosystem.
The Special Act on the Promotion of the Artificial Intelligence Data Center Industry, which includes consolidated permitting and special electricity supply provisions for areas outside the Seoul metropolitan region, is also scheduled to take effect in March 2027.
Through the agreement, the two organizations plan to combine the Korea Data Center Council's industry expertise with KOTRA's global investment attraction network. They intend to establish a cooperation framework that connects overseas investors with South Korean data center companies and provides the information and support needed during investment.
KOTRA currently operates 36 overseas offices dedicated to attracting investment. The Korea Data Center Council has 199 member companies, including businesses involved in data center operation, design and construction, and equipment and facilities.
The main areas of cooperation are identifying demand for foreign investment in data centers and promoting investment; publishing a data center development guide; supporting cooperation between overseas investors and South Korean data center companies; and addressing difficulties associated with data center investment.
In particular, the organizations plan to cooperate on resolving electricity supply and permitting problems encountered by overseas investors participating in South Korean data center projects. They previously co-hosted a meeting with foreign-invested data center companies on October 23 to identify practical difficulties and support needs.
Based on those findings, they plan to publish a guidebook covering investment procedures and relevant regulations for foreign investors in March 2027, timed to coincide with the AI data center special act taking effect. They also intend to continue providing support to reduce difficulties arising during project development, including investment notification and site selection.
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The Korea Data Center Council and KOTRA aim to encourage inflows of overseas capital needed for AI infrastructure construction by expanding opportunities for cooperation between South Korea's data center industry and global investors.
“Actively attracting overseas investment is necessary to build AI data centers on time and introduce global standards into South Korea's data center industry,” said Kang Jung-hyup, chair of the Korea Data Center Council. “Together with KOTRA, which has an overseas investment attraction network and expertise, we will serve as a point of contact connecting South Korea's data center industry with global companies and do our utmost to improve the effectiveness of foreign investment attraction in the data center industry.”
Original Korean article: ZDNet Korea
English brief by Korea Wind Intelligence, koreawindintel.com
