Odaily Planet Daily reports: South Korea’s SK Telecom (SKT) has announced the establishment of a dedicated subsidiary, “SK Hyper,” to operate an AI data center (AIDC), with plans to invest a total of 750 billion KRW to expand its large-scale AI data center business. The market believes this move is expected to strengthen the company’s competitive position in AI infrastructure and generate new growth expectations for its stock price.
SK Telecom will initially invest 330 billion KRW and plans to cumulatively invest 750 billion KRW by December 2030, holding 100% equity in the company. This organizational restructuring aims to accelerate the execution of SK Telecom’s medium- to long-term large-scale AIDC construction plan. The newly established SK Hyper will be responsible for the development and commercialization of future large-scale AI data center projects, including site selection, securing power infrastructure, and initial customer business partnerships.
In terms of business division, SK Telecom’s existing 137 MW data center assets and the planned 100 MW Ulsan AIDC project, scheduled for full operation by 2029, will continue to be operated by SK Broadband. The newly added 900 MW Ulsan AIDC project and the super data center initiative targeting a long-term capacity of 15 GW will be led by SK Hyper.
SK Hyper will adopt a "development-led" business model rather than the traditional approach of directly owning data center assets. The company will secure key resources such as land and power grids in advance, with data center construction, ownership, and operations managed through project-specific special purpose companies (SPCs).
This model aims to alleviate the financial pressure associated with large-scale capital investment. SK Hyper plans to introduce external funding, including equity investments from financial investors (FIs) and project financing (PF), to shift construction costs, capital expenditures, and depreciation burdens to the project company, while generating revenue through development service fees and operational profit sharing.
Analysts believe that prior doubts regarding the feasibility of securing tens of trillions of won needed for SK Telecom to build a large AIDC exceeding 5GW have been alleviated by the establishment of a dedicated legal entity, offering a more realistic expansion path. Coupled with support from the South Korean government for power supply and approval processes, as well as SK Hynix’s advantage in memory chip supply within the SK Group, the pace of AIDC project advancement and its commercial potential are expected to improve.
Im Securities analyst Shin Hee-jung stated that the SK Hyper model minimizes SK Telecom's financial burden by focusing on early-stage development and leveraging external capital for construction and operation, while balancing the speed of AI data center expansion with profitability potential. (Ket)