Hyosung Group (004800.KS) is partnering with global data center operator STT GDC to enter Korea's data center market. According to global market research firm Mordor Intelligence, Korea's data center construction market is expected to grow rapidly from $6.99 billion this year to $14.63 billion in 2031.
Hyosung-STT GDC, a joint venture between Hyosung Heavy Industries (298040.KS) (40% stake) and STT GDC (60% stake), opened its first artificial intelligence (AI) data center, "STT Seoul 1," in Gasan-dong, Geumcheon-gu, Seoul, on Tuesday. STT Seoul 1 spans a total floor area of about 40,000 square meters and supports an IT load of up to 30 megawatts (MW).
The facility was built from the design stage with uninterrupted operation and energy efficiency as top priorities. It enhances operational stability in emergencies through dual 22.9 kV main and backup power feeds, a distributed redundant (DR) UPS system, and generator equipment capable of 24-hour oil-free operation.
The cooling system operates stably without interruption through a design PUE of less than 1.3 and a thermal energy storage (TES) tank. It also provides thorough physical security through a seven-stage security process including intelligent video analytics and biometric recognition. In particular, it realized the high-performance, low-carbon infrastructure pursued by STT GDC through LEED Gold certification.
At the opening ceremony, Chairman Cho said, "I was convinced that data would become the 'oil of the 21st century' and foresaw an era in which AI competitiveness is national competitiveness." He added, "We will grow the data center business into Hyosung's new growth engine and change the paradigm of the global AI ecosystem beyond Korea."
Hyosung Group plans to build a differentiated AI data center business model through synergy among its major affiliates. This also follows a special directive from Chairman Cho to concentrate the group's core capabilities on the AI data center business.
Hyosung Heavy Industries will secure both operational stability and power efficiency for AI data centers based on power equipment such as ultra-high-voltage transformers and circuit breakers, along with energy efficiency technology. In addition, it plans to systematically secure AI data center-specialized technology and construction know-how based on the construction capabilities it has accumulated through liquefaction plants and hydrogen charging stations.
Hyosung ITX will apply its existing information technology (IT) business expertise, including cloud, content delivery network (CDN), and DX solutions, to overall AI data center operations. It plans to build traffic optimization and security management systems to enhance the technological reliability and stability of AI data centers.
Chairman Cho repeatedly stressed, "Hyosung is a company that possesses all of the technological capabilities at the level of the global top four power equipment makers, construction capabilities, and nearly 30 years of accumulated IT operations experience." He added, "The AI data center business is the crystallization of Hyosung's core capabilities brought together, and we must develop it into the group's future growth axis."
Meanwhile, the data center cooperation between Hyosung and STT GDC gained momentum following a 2019 meeting in Seoul between Chairman Cho and STT GDC CEO Bruno Lopez. At the time, both sides shared the view that the data center industry would grow into key infrastructure.
Hyosung Heavy Industries and STT GDC subsequently signed a strategic partnership in 2021 and established the joint venture Hyosung-STT GDC to jointly develop and operate AI data centers.
STT GDC, headquartered in Singapore, is a global data center specialist operating a portfolio of more than 100 data centers across 12 countries in Asia and Europe, with an IT capacity of about 2.3 gigawatts (GW).
