Amazon Web Services (AWS) is fortifying its position in South Korea with a substantial $5 billion investment dedicated to AI data centers. This move underscores South Korea’s ambition to emerge as a leader in AI and industrial technology within Asia. Meeting between AWS CEO Matt Garman and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung in Gyeongju highlighted this commitment. This new investment complements AWS’s earlier $4 billion project with SK Group in Ulsan.
The planned facilities in Incheon and Gyeonggi Province aim to boost South Korea’s technological growth, following the Ulsan project’s lead. The Ulsan center, set to be the largest AI data center in the country, began construction in September 2025. It will initially offer 100MW of computing capacity and can expand to 1GW, housing 60,000 GPUs.
President Lee emphasized these projects as crucial for Korea’s economic development and technological advancement. An “AI expressway” initiative aims to integrate AI into various industries, positioning South Korea among the top three global AI powers.
AWS’s investment fits within a broader strategy to enhance AWS’s AI infrastructure in Asia, contributing to the region’s digital expansion. “At AWS, we’ve invested and committed to investment of an additional $40 billion across 14 non-U.S. APEC countries and economies between now and 2028,” Garman stated.
This investment aligns with other foreign investment commitments in South Korea, amounting to $9 billion over five years from seven global companies like Renault and Siemens Healthineers. These are targeting strategic areas such as semiconductors and future mobility.
Moreover, AWS’s growth in South Korea complements initiatives by global AI players such as OpenAI. OpenAI plans to partner with Samsung and SK Group to develop specialized Korean data centers and strengthen local supply chains.
