AI NewsWaveHyundai Motor Group Confirms Saemangeum AI Data Center Investment, Groundbreaking in March Next Year
Key points
- Five Hyundai affiliates confirm Saemangeum AIDC investment
- SPC to be set up in November, groundbreaking planned for March 2027
- Core facility of the Saemangeum AI Valley, worth about 9 trillion won
Hyundai Motor Group is moving ahead with its AI data center (AIDC) project in Saemangeum, North Jeolla Province. On the 30th, the group said five affiliates (Hyundai Motor, Kia, Hyundai Mobis, Hyundai Engineering & Construction and Hyundai AutoEver) had confirmed their participation in the investment. The group plans to set up a dedicated special purpose company (SPC) in November, break ground in March 2027 and begin operations in early 2030.
The data center is the core facility of the Saemangeum AI Valley, a project worth about 9 trillion won. Chosun Biz said the AI Valley includes an AI data center, a robot manufacturing cluster, a solar power facility and an electrolysis plant for clean hydrogen production. iNews24 described the project as one that links renewable energy, AI data centers, robots and hydrogen to build a future industrial ecosystem. Industry News reported that the five affiliates' confirmed participation is expected to speed up the company setup and permitting processes.
Saemangeum drew attention on the 29th as well, before the announcement. iNews24 reported that Hyundai Motor Group said on the 29th that it is accelerating the build-out of the Saemangeum AI Valley, a 9 trillion won investment. According to Chosun Biz, Hyundai Motor Group Vice Chairman Chang Jae-hoon attended the Democratic Party's Mega Growth Special Committee on-site meeting on Saemangeum at the Saemangeum Energy Convergence Complex support center on the 29th and said the investment would proceed without delay. Digital Daily reported that after setting up an SPC for a solar power project in September, the group is firming up major projects such as the AI data center, robots and hydrogen through a dedicated team. Industry News reported that after establishing an SPC for the solar power project, the group is pursuing an investment plan linking the AI data center, robots and the hydrogen industry.
Recently, discussions on investment participation and support have continued. According to Chosun Biz and Bloter, Hyundai AutoEver will contribute about 114.6 billion won to a joint venture for the Saemangeum AI data center project. Chosun Biz reported that Hyundai AutoEver is moving beyond its existing GPU server supply and cloud service businesses into directly operating AI computing infrastructure. According to Chosun Biz, Democratic Party leader Kim Min-seok visited the Saemangeum industrial complex on the 29th and said that if investment led by Hyundai Motor goes well, there is now great hope that Saemangeum can become the world's No. 1 in physical AI. Betanews reported that on the 28th, North Jeolla Province moved to secure national funding to expand its physical AI industry base and for Saemangeum development, and that Park Hong-keun, minister of the Ministry of Planning and Budget, visited the province. Betanews also reported in its headline that, while Hyundai Motor invests 9 trillion won in Saemangeum, the budget for a 238.9 billion won robot demonstration center is 0 won.
Glossary A special purpose company (SPC) is a company set up separately to carry out a specific project and handle only that project. An AI data center refers to a data center equipped with high-performance servers used for AI computing.