Lee Gyu-lee is a business writer at The Korea Times, focusing primarily on IT & telecommunications, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and KOTRA. Prior to this, she has covered a wide range of cultural news, from film, television and K-pop to lifestyle and fashion.
Hyosung launches hyperscale AI data center in Seoul
Hyosung Group Chairman Cho Hyun-joon speaks during the opening ceremony of STT Seoul 1, a 30-megawatt data center, in Geumcheon District, Seoul, Tuesday. Courtesy of Hyosung Group
By Lee Gyu-lee
Hyosung Group is expanding its push into artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure with the launch of a hyperscale data center in Seoul, marking its entry into Korea’s fast-growing data center market.
The company announced Wednesday that Hyosung-STT GDC, a joint venture between Hyosung Heavy Industries and Singapore-based operator ST Telemedia Global Data Centres (STT GDC), opened STT Seoul 1, a 30-megawatt data center, in Geumcheon District, Seoul, the previous day.
Designed to support cloud and AI workloads, the new facility combines Hyosung’s power infrastructure expertise with STT GDC's global standards in data center design, operation and service management.
The facility is capable of accommodating increasingly power-intensive and high-density computing environments driven by generative AI applications.
The company explained that one of the center's biggest advantages is its location in Seoul, where securing large-scale power capacity has become increasingly difficult due to energy regulations and grid constraints, providing low-latency connectivity to major business districts like Gangnam and Yeouido.
Hyosung Heavy Industries, the group’s power equipment arm, will provide critical electrical systems and technologies for the facility, including ultrahigh-voltage transformers, switchgear and power management solutions to ensure operational reliability and improve energy efficiency.
The facility marks Hyosung's first major step into the data center business and reflects the group's broader push to position itself as a key infrastructure provider for Korea's emerging AI economy.
“STT Seoul 1 reflects the combined strengths of STT GDC’s expertise and Hyosung’s power solutions capabilities, and will serve as a core piece of infrastructure supporting the growth of Korea’s AI industry while setting a new benchmark for future competitiveness,” Hyosung Group Chairman Cho Hyun-joon said during the opening ceremony at the facility.
“We aim to develop the data center business into a new growth engine for Hyosung and, beyond Korea, help reshape the global AI ecosystem.”
Hyosung Group Chairman Cho Hyun-joon, second from left, and ST Telemedia Global Data Centres CEO Bruno Lopez, third from left, pose during the opening ceremony of STT Seoul 1, a 30-megawatt data center, in Geumcheon District, Seoul, Tuesday. Courtesy of Hyosung Group
STT Seoul 1 has also achieved the Tier III Certification of Design Documents from Uptime Institute, validating a design approach that supports high availability through concurrent maintainability. The company said it has implemented global-standard security and risk management systems to safeguard against physical and operational threats.
The company plans to leverage groupwide capabilities to expand its AI data center business. Hyosung Heavy Industries will focus on power solutions and construction expertise, while Hyosung ITX will contribute cloud, content delivery network and digital transformation technologies to enhance operations and traffic management.
Hyosung and STT GDC formed a strategic partnership in 2021 after Cho and STT GDC Group CEO Bruno Lopez met in 2019 and aligned on the long-term potential of data centers as critical infrastructure for the AI and cloud era. The two companies subsequently established the joint venture to develop and operate AI-focused data centers.