In recent years, South Korea has emerged as a vital data centre hub in Asia, driven by a confluence of technological advancements, strategic government initiatives, and a robust digital economy. According to Cushman & Wakefield, South Korea has the potential to reach 1,485MW in operational capacity in the coming five to seven years, and is set to be one of the top six data centre markets in Asia. As demand for data centres continues to surge globally, South Korea’s strategic position in the Asian market is becoming increasingly significant.
Growth Drivers
Strategic Location and Connectivity
South Korea’s geographical position makes it an ideal gateway between major Asian economies, including China, Japan and Southeast Asia. The country’s advanced telecommunications infrastructure and excellent connectivity ensure low-latency data transmission across the region, making it a preferred location for data centre investments.
Government Support and Policy Initiatives
The South Korean government has been proactive in promoting the growth of the data centre industry. Policies such as tax incentives, subsidies for renewable energy use, and the development of special economic zones have attracted significant foreign and domestic investments. The government’s commitment to digital transformation and the Fourth Industrial Revolution further underscores its support for the data centre sector.
Robust Digital Economy
South Korea boasts one of the world’s most advanced digital economies, characterized by high internet penetration rates, widespread adoption of 5G technology, and a thriving e-commerce market. The rapid growth of data-intensive industries, such as gaming, streaming and AI has driven the demand for reliable and scalable data centre infrastructure.
Focus on Sustainability
With increasing awareness of environmental concerns, South Korea has emphasized the development of green data centres. The country’s commitment to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 has led to a surge in investments in energy-efficient and sustainable data centre solutions, aligning with global sustainability trends.
Empyrion Digital: Enabling Success in the Era of AI
By Q3 2025, our flagship project in South Korea – Gangnam Data Centre (GDC) – will be fully operational. GDC is a 40MW powered facility, conveniently located in the heart of Seoul’s major business districts and IT cluster at Pangyo Techno Valley. It spans a colocation space of 30,714 square metres, and is poised to be one of the newest data centres to be built in Gangnam in the last decade. GDC provides opportunities for international and local hyperscale, enterprise and network companies to expand into, and within the 4th largest metropolitan economy in the world.
AI-Readiness
As demand for AI and high-performance computing (HPC) soars, Empyrion Digital provides AI-ready infrastructure that supports these power intensive workloads. Through our powerful ecosystem and the use of advanced cooling solutions, Empyrion Digital enables our customers to harness the full potential of AI and HPC.
Serving Diverse Customer Segments
Whether it’s managing large-scale data operations for hyperscalers or providing secure and scalable infrastructure for enterprises in gaming, technology or financial services, we cater to the varied demands of these segments. Furthermore, our customers can tap on the inter-connectivity of our data centres within metros, and among the Empyrion network of data centres that we will operate across Singapore, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan and Southeast Asia.
Flexibility in Deployment
Empyrion Digital understands that every customer has unique requirements and is focused on delivering an exceptional customer experience. Our platform can adapt to various deployment scenarios to meet the needs of different customers. This flexibility ensures that customers can optimize their operations and scale seamlessly with Empyrion Digital, as their needs evolve.
Robust Network Connectivity
Our data centres are strategically located to leverage South Korea’s advanced telecommunications infrastructure, offering low-latency and high-speed connectivity to enhance performance and reliability. As an example, our partnership with Sejong Telecom underscores this point, allowing GDC customers to take advantage of Sejong’s rich network services covering 83% of South Korea with a length of 12,600km as well as seamless network services to the Seoul Metro, 6 major cities and 38 provincial cities in South Korea.
Stringent Security Standards
In an era where data breaches and cyber threats are prevalent, Empyrion Digital employs state-of-the-art security measures, including 24/7 physical security, CCTV and 2-factor authentication with biometric access to protect our customers’ critical data.
Green Data Centres
Sustainability is at the core of Empyrion Digital’s operations.
Compared to conventional data centres, the GDC project reduces the Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) by 30%, and has a PUE of 1.3. The project also allows over 35% reduction in water usage effectiveness (WUE), demonstrating our commitment to energy efficiency and environmental responsibility.
Furthermore, the project will utilize StatePoint Liquid Cooling, and Building Integrated Photovoltaic Panels (BIPV) on the facade of the 9-storey project. Empyrion Digital will also leverage its in-house expertise in energy management to reduce its carbon footprint and develop GDC in line with world-class energy efficiency standards, thereby helping our customers meet their sustainability goals as well.
Exciting Times for Empyrion Digital
South Korea’s ascent as a key data centre hub in Asia is a testament to its strategic advantages, supportive government policies and robust digital ecosystem. With decades of experience and expertise managing the operations of data centres and an unwavering commitment to sustainability, the Empyrion Digital team is excited to support our customers and partners to thrive in the era of AI and play a part in taking South Korea’s digital transformation to the next level.
To learn more about Empyrion Digital’s Gangnam Data Centre (GDC), download our fact sheet and reach out to [email protected]