Jangseong AI Data Center Wins Fast-Track Investment Review Exemption, Eyes 2028 Launch

The government will exempt a large-scale AI data center project in Jangseong, South Jeolla Province, from investment review requirements to accelerate its development and ensure the facility opens on schedule in March 2028.

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol chaired the Emergency Economic Headquarters and Economic Ministers' Meeting at the Government Seoul Building on Friday, announcing the "Regional Activation Investment Fund No. 7 Project Fast-Track Plan."

The project involves constructing and operating an advanced data center in the Cheomdan District 3 zone of the Gwangju Research and Development Special Zone in Jangseong-gun, South Jeolla Province. Total project costs stand at 395.9 billion won (approximately $259 million), comprising 100 billion won in equity and 295.9 billion won in loans. South Jeolla Province and Jangseong-gun plan to contribute a combined 8 billion won — 4.8 billion won and 3.2 billion won, respectively.

The data center will be built with a power intake capacity of 26 megawatts (IT load: 16.7 MW). It will lease facilities to cloud service providers and other tenants while supplying power and temperature and humidity control services. South Jeolla Province, Jangseong-gun and private investors have been developing the project since 2023, with plans to eventually expand capacity to 60 MW and position the site as a forward base for AI infrastructure.

Construction is already underway. Korea Growth Investment Corp., the fund-of-funds manager for the Regional Activation Investment Fund, selected the project as an investment target in November last year. Project financing loan agreements followed, and ground was broken in February. As of late April, construction stood at 9.21 percent completion.

The government determined that securing equity contributions from South Jeolla Province and Jangseong-gun is essential to meet the March 2028 launch target. Under shareholder agreements and loan covenants, the two local governments must contribute a combined 8 billion won to the special purpose company established for the project by early February next year.

In response, the government will apply a "fast-track exemption" to the project, expediting the mandatory local fiscal investment review that precedes local government equity contributions. Following a vote at the Economic Ministers' Meeting, a specialist agency will conduct a review, after which the Ministry of Interior and Safety will issue a consultation exemption decision.

The government expects the project to support the timely build-out of core AI infrastructure, help regional industries transition to AI, and lay the groundwork for attracting advanced technology companies. It also projects the data center will ease the concentration of such facilities in Greater Seoul while generating roughly 800 billion won in production ripple effects and around 3,000 jobs.

The Jangseong data center is more than a regional development project — it is being watched as a test case for building AI infrastructure outside the greater metropolitan area. Linked to the Gwangju AI cluster, it is drawing attention as a critical facility that could underpin the AI industry ecosystem across the Honam region.

Private sector investment is also flowing in. Daewoo Engineering is participating in the Jangseong data center project as both an equity investor and contractor. The company completed a 40 MW data center in Gangnam — the Empirion Digital AI Campus — last year and has since joined the Jangseong project, positioning data centers as a key growth engine.

The Jangseong facility is being developed as South Jeolla Province's first data center. Daewoo Engineering is also pursuing separate plans with Jangseong-gun and Gangjin-gun to build ultra-large AI data centers with capacities of 200 MW and 300 MW, respectively.

Industry observers expect the combination of government fast-track support and expanding private investment to mark the start of a full-scale push to build AI infrastructure outside Greater Seoul. The development is expected to ease the metropolitan concentration of data centers while supporting regional AI transformation and the attraction of advanced technology firms.

The Regional Activation Investment Fund is a government-backed scheme that draws in private capital on top of a government-seeded fund-of-funds to invest in regional development projects. Unlike conventional policy funds focused on corporate investment, it operates through project financing. Eight projects nationwide have been selected to date, with total planned investment reaching 3.6 trillion won.