SK Telecom Launches SK Hyper with a 750 billion KRW Investment to Expand Its AI Data Center

ME AI News: South Korea’s SK Telecom (SKT) has announced the establishment of a dedicated subsidiary, “SK Hyper,” to lead its AI data center (AIDC) business, with a planned cumulative investment of 750 billion KRW to expand large-scale AIDC operations. The market believes this move will strengthen the company’s competitive position in AI infrastructure and create new growth expectations for its stock price. SK Telecom will initially invest 330 billion KRW and plans to reach a total investment of 750 billion KRW by December 2030, maintaining 100% ownership of the new entity. This organizational restructuring aims to accelerate the execution of SK Telecom’s medium- to long-term large-scale AIDC development plan. SK Hyper will be responsible for the development and commercialization of future large AI data center projects, including site selection, securing power infrastructure, and establishing customer partnerships. In terms of business division, SK Telecom’s existing 137MW data center assets and the planned 100MW Ulsan AIDC project, scheduled for full operation by 2029, will continue to be operated by SK Broadband. Meanwhile, the newly planned 900MW Ulsan AIDC project and the long-term goal of securing up to 15GW of super data center capacity 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 critical resources such as land and grid access in advance, with project-specific special purpose companies (SPCs) handling construction, ownership, and operation of the data centers. This model is expected to alleviate financial pressure from large capital expenditures. SK Hyper plans to attract external funding through equity investments from financial investors (FIs) and project financing (PF), shifting construction costs, capital expenditures, and depreciation burdens to the project SPVs while generating revenue through development service fees and operational profit-sharing. Analysts note that previously, there were doubts about the feasibility of SK Telecom raising hundreds of trillions of KRW to build AIDCs exceeding 5GW. The creation of a dedicated legal entity now offers a more realistic expansion pathway. Combined with government support for power supply and regulatory approvals, along with SK Hynix’s advantage in memory chip supply within the SK Group, the pace and commercial potential of AIDC projects are expected to improve. iM Securities analyst Shin Hee-jek stated that the SK Hyper model—by focusing on early-stage development and leveraging external capital for construction and operation—can significantly reduce SK Telecom’s financial burden while balancing the speed of AI data center expansion with profitability potential. (Source: ODAILY)