Seoul: SK Telecom Co., South Korea's major telecommunications company, announced its commitment to establishing the nation as a leading regional artificial intelligence (AI) hub. The company plans to achieve this by encouraging global investment and expanding its AI infrastructure.

According to Yonhap News Agency, Jung Jai-hun, the newly appointed chief executive officer (CEO) of SK Telecom, outlined the company's strategic vision during his keynote speech at the annual SK AI Summit 2025 in Seoul. He emphasized that SK Telecom has strengthened its AI infrastructure through the construction of AI data centers and the establishment of a graphics processing unit (GPU) cloud. "Based on this capability, we will pursue the full-scale expansion of our AI infrastructure," Jung stated.

As part of this ambitious vision, SK Telecom plans to seek further partnerships and make additional investments in its new AI data center, currently under construction with Amazon Web Services (AWS) in Ulsan, a southeastern port city. The facility aims to expand its capacity to 1 gigawatt, housing 60,000 GPUs with a power capacity of 100 megawatts.

In a related development, SK Group signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with OpenAI in October to construct a new large-scale data center in South Korea's southwestern region. Jung highlighted that SK Telecom will leverage its domestic AI data center infrastructure to penetrate global markets, including Vietnam, Malaysia, and Singapore, by offering energy-specialized AI data center solutions in collaboration with SK Group affiliates.

A notable partnership with SK Innovation Co. will see SK Telecom building an AI data center in Vietnam, ensuring a stable power supply through a liquefied natural gas (LNG) power plant and utilizing cold energy for cooling systems. Jung remarked, "Following the unveiling of the Ulsan AI data center, global enterprises have begun to take notice of SK Telecom's AI data center development capabilities. We are laying the foundation for South Korea to become Asia's AI infrastructure hub."

Jung assumed his role at SK Telecom in a significant executive reshuffle of SK Group, following the telecom giant's reported net loss in the third quarter due to a massive data breach in April.