South Korean energy company SGC Energy is set to build a 300MW data center in Gunsan, marking its first foray into the AI data center business.

Gunsan is a coastal city in North Jeolla, one of South Korea’s southwestern provinces.

KT, one of South Korea's largest telcos and a budding data center operator, and Mirae Asset Securities, an investment bank and stock brokerage, will be involved in the project as well.

The 300MW facility will be built at the Gunsan National Industrial Complex 2, the largest of two industrial areas located around Gunsan that house shipbuilding facilities, power plants, battery production facilities, and more.

According to the company, the data center will be built on approximately 100,000 sq ft (9,290 sqm) of land already owned by SGC Green Power, an affiliate of SGC Energy.

The first phase of development will feature a 40MW modular data center, and construction is set to start later this year. SGC Energy estimates that operations will begin in Q1 2028.

Both SGC Green Power and SGC Energy are owned by OCI Group, a South Korean chemicals company.

Many of South Korea’s conglomerates, including Samsung, Eugene Group, and Hyundai, are developing data center projects to meet domestic demand for AI-powered services.

Most of the country’s data centers are located around the capital city, Seoul.