Shinsegae Group to Build Korea's Largest AI Data Center in Partnership with U.S. Firm

Strategic Partnership with U.S. Reflection AI

MOU Signed for Joint Construction and Operation of Korea Sovereign AI Factory

Center to Be Built with 250MW Power Capacity

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Lutnick Attends, Pledges "Active Suppo

Shinsegae Group is pushing forward with plans to build the largest AI data center in South Korea through a partnership with the U.S. artificial intelligence company Reflection AI. The group aims to cultivate AI as a future growth engine and become a leading domestic AI cloud service provider with top-tier technology and data security capabilities.

On March 16 (local time), Shinsegae Group signed a "Strategic Partnership MOU for the Establishment of the Korea Sovereign AI Factory" with Reflection AI in San Francisco, USA. The event was attended by Shinsegae Group Chairman Chung Yongjin and Reflection AI CEO Misha Laskin, who pledged to collaborate closely.

At the 'Strategic Partnership Agreement (MOU) for the Establishment of the Korean Sovereign AI Factory' event held in San Francisco, USA, on the 16th, from left, Ioannis Antonoglou, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Reflection AI, Misha Raskin, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Reflection AI, Howard Lutnick, U.S. Secretary of Commerce, Chung Yongjin, Chairman of Shinsegae Group, and Lim Youngrok, President and Head of Strategy at Shinsegae Group, are posing for a commemorative photo. Provided by Shinsegae Group

This partnership marks the first case of technological cooperation under the "AI Export Program" launched by the U.S. government last year. This program, initiated by the U.S. Department of Commerce following an executive order signed by President Donald Trump in July last year, is designed to transfer the entire AI ecosystem—including AI data centers and AI services based on these centers—to other countries. Howard Lutnick, U.S. Secretary of Commerce, also attended the event, stating, "The partnership between Shinsegae Group and Reflection AI will be a historic milestone for the Korean government, Korean businesses, and Korean customers," and added, "We will actively support the successful progress of this project."

Supply of Nvidia GPUs... Contributing to Becoming a Top 3 AI Power

Through this agreement, Shinsegae Group and Reflection AI plan to build an AI data center in Korea with a power capacity of 250MW. According to Shinsegae Group, this will be the largest AI data center in the country, surpassing all existing and planned centers. The project will be carried out in stages, gradually increasing the power capacity.

Reflection AI was founded in February 2024 by a group of AI experts, including CEO Laskin, a key developer at Google DeepMind, and CTO Ioannis Antonoglou, one of the main developers behind AlphaGo. In October last year, the company raised $2 billion (about 3 trillion won) in investments from Nvidia and others, with its corporate value recognized at $8 billion (about 12 trillion won). Reflection AI's collaboration with Shinsegae Group became possible after securing a deal with Nvidia to supply GPUs—the core equipment for AI data centers. The two companies plan to establish a "full-stack AI factory" that will provide not only cloud services but also customized AI solutions based on this large-scale data center.

Reflection AI is also recognized as a leading developer of "open-weight" AI models in the United States. Unlike closed AI models, open-weight AI models provide infrastructure that allows users to modify the model structure to suit their purposes and facilitate "data sovereignty" by enabling independent management of information.

The open-weight model pursued by Reflection AI aligns with the South Korean government's policy direction to foster sovereign AI. As global competition to enhance AI capabilities intensifies, building sovereign AI under national control has become essential. For Korea to achieve its declared goal of becoming a "top 3 AI power," it is critical to use open-weight AI models that offer both technological excellence and reliability, as well as eliminate concerns over data leakage.

Chong Yongjin, Chairman of Shinsegae Group (left), is taking a commemorative photo with Howard Lutnick, U.S. Secretary of Commerce, at the Christmas dinner. Provided by Shinsegae Group.

'A New World of AI'... Commerce Innovation Leading to 'Emart 2.0'

Previously, in December last year, Chairman Chung held a series of meetings with local business leaders in the U.S. to expand Shinsegae Group's business, following his attendance at a Christmas dinner hosted by U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance. At that time, CEO Laskin also visited Chairman Chung in Florida to propose cooperation. They discussed the possibility of applying Reflection AI's autonomous AI agent system, currently under development, to Shinsegae Group's core businesses. This autonomous AI agent system is capable of understanding goals, making plans, executing actions, and even evaluating and revising outcomes on its own, without the need for constant human instructions.

With this agreement, Shinsegae plans to provide AI cloud services that both Korean government agencies and businesses can use with confidence, in line with the government's vision to enhance AI competitiveness and build sovereign AI. The launch of the AI data center is also expected to strengthen AI as a future growth engine.

Specifically, Shinsegae will seek ways to create synergy with its existing retail operations. By combining its longstanding customer contact infrastructure and data with AI capabilities, the company aims to offer personalized product recommendations on its online mall and manage the entire process from payment to delivery through AI-enhanced commerce. Furthermore, Shinsegae intends to develop a full-stack AI system applicable throughout its retail operations to boost efficiency in inventory management and profitability, as well as build sophisticated and rapid delivery logistics to keep pace with the era of delivery competition. By doing so, Shinsegae seeks to usher in the 'Emart 2.0' era, leading the upgrade of Korea's retail market and delivering an even more satisfying experience for customers.

The two companies plan to gradually move forward with the AI factory project and establish a joint venture (JV) within this year. Chairman Chung stated, "AI will fundamentally transform every field, including industry, the economy, and human life. In the future, industries without AI will be unsustainable," adding, "The collaboration with Reflection AI to build a data center will not only provide the foundation for Shinsegae's future growth, but also contribute to advancing the AI ecosystem across Korean industries." CEO Laskin responded, "I hope our AI partnership with Shinsegae Group will become a symbol of 'AI connectivity' between Korea and the United States. Together with Shinsegae, we will create AI infrastructure that Korea can independently develop and evolve."

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