Pohang Set to Break Ground on "Global AI Data Center"... Accelerating Leap Toward Becoming Korea's AI Capital

As Pohang City works to restructure its industrial landscape from a steel-focused base to an AI-driven one, the construction project for the core infrastructure, the "Global AI Data Center," is progressing smoothly.

The city announced that it has completed all administrative procedures without any setbacks and will break ground at the end of April 2026.

Neo AI Cloud is developing this center on a 100,000-square-meter site within the Gwangmyeong Industrial Complex in Ocheon-eup, with the first phase alone involving an investment of 2 trillion won, making it a large-scale project.

Aerial view of the Global AI Data Center. Provided by Pohang City

The first-phase facility, with a capacity of 40MW, is scheduled for completion in the first half of 2027, and there are plans to continue expanding the center in subsequent phases.

The rapid progress of this project has been enabled by the full administrative support of Pohang City.

Since September 2025, the city has operated a "Fast-Track Permitting Support Task Force Team," which has dramatically reduced the complexity and duration of the approval process.

In particular, the critical issue of power supply was resolved by leveraging the advantage of the site's proximity to a 345kV uninterrupted substation and through cooperation with relevant ministries, securing a confirmed supply of over 200MW of electricity.

Pohang boasts the highest power self-sufficiency rate in Korea and is home to excellent educational and research infrastructure, including POSTECH and Handong Global University, making it an ideal location for the AI industry.

Furthermore, with a concentration of existing strategic industries such as steel and secondary batteries, Pohang offers an optimal environment as a testbed for AI verification.

The city plans to form an AI value chain by attracting related companies around the data center and to accelerate the AI transformation (AX) across all industries.

Jang Sangkil, Acting Mayor of Pohang, stated, "The data center will become a core pillar in the fundamental transformation of Pohang's industrial structure," adding, "We expect Pohang to grow as Korea's leading AI city."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.