SK Hyper Co., the AI data center development unit of SK Telecom, is in talks with technology companies and financial investors to secure $350 billion for the first phase of a massive infrastructure buildout in South Korea, CEO Jung Suk-keun disclosed in an interview with Bloomberg on October 223,4.
The $350 billion, equivalent to roughly 462.91 trillion won, covers the first 5-gigawatt phase of a planned 15-gigawatt data center buildout the company aims to complete by 20351. The figure includes equipment costs, according to the CEO. The $350 billion describes a proposed buildout cost, not capital raised or committed2.
SK Hyper plans to secure an initial round of outside capital between the end of this year and early next year, with additional fundraising over the following three to four years. The company intends to share the total cost with data center tenants and outside investors.
The CEO acknowledged that investor sentiment has soured amid renewed debate over AI profitability and spreading concerns about credit risk tied to data centers. Rather than executing the entire plan at once, SK Hyper will adjust its investment pace according to actual demand, the CEO said.
SK Telecom is building separate vehicles to operate existing data centers and develop new ones. Jung Suk-keun heads SK Telecom's AI Company-in-Company, an in-house independent business unit, and serves as chief executive of SK Hyper.
ANALYSIS The $350 billion price tag for a single 5GW phase represents one of the largest single-country AI infrastructure proposals disclosed to date, yet it remains a target under discussion rather than a binding obligation. The phased fundraising approach and demand-contingent pacing suggest SK Hyper is calibrating ambition against the credit and profitability concerns the CEO himself flagged.