South Gyeongsang Province has secured South Korea's first AI data center dedicated exclusively to the defense industry, establishing core infrastructure for the artificial intelligence transformation of the country's defense sector.
The province and Changwon signed an investment agreement Monday with Dinoticia Co., Dinocore Co. and Shinhwa Steel Co. for the construction of the defense-dedicated AI data center, at the provincial government building in Changwon. The total project cost is 1.66 trillion won ($1.13 billion).
The data center, to be built in the Pallyong-dong area of Changwon's Uichang-gu, will have a power capacity of 100 megawatts and a total floor area of approximately 74,000 square meters. The complex will include a data center building with five above-ground floors and one below-ground floor, and a support building with four above-ground floors and three below-ground floors. Ground-breaking is scheduled for the first half of 2027, with partial completion and trial operations planned for 2030 and full completion targeted for the first half of 2031.
The project's central focus is defense-grade security. The defense industry handles sensitive information such as technical blueprints and core technology data, and government security guidelines have strictly limited the use of general cloud services as a result. The dedicated center will combine an independent security network with high-performance AI computing infrastructure, giving defense companies in the province a secure environment for data research and development and verification work.
Dinoticia and Dinocore will apply their "Seahorse AI Storage" — which supports long-term AI memory and reasoning — along with an integrated cloud platform to support defense firms' AI transformation. Shinhwa Steel, a co-participant, will contribute to linking the project with local industries and building its operational foundation.
The power supply challenge, the biggest hurdle for large-scale infrastructure of this kind, has also been resolved. A South Gyeongsang Province official said the project cleared Korea Electric Power Corporation's grid impact assessment in April, adding that project financing would be arranged through a special purpose company and that security consultations with relevant agencies — including the Ministry of National Defense and the Defense Acquisition Program Administration — would proceed without delay.
The project is also expected to generate high-value information and communications technology jobs. About 200 IT specialists — including AI model developers, data analysts and cybersecurity experts — will be hired, primarily based in the support building, with the aim of stemming the outflow of young talent from the region and attracting skilled workers.
South Gyeongsang Province Governor Park Wan-su said securing the country's first 100-megawatt defense-dedicated AI data center marks "an important turning point in overcoming the limits of security and data utilization," adding that the province would provide full administrative and fiscal support "so that South Gyeongsang can emerge as a hub leading defense AI and advanced manufacturing innovation."
ook967@heraldcorp.com
