SK Telecom Aims to Become Asia's Leading Data Center Operator [Weekend Money]

Full-Stack Strength with AI Infrastructure, Models, and Services
Competitive Advantage over Rivals... Poised for Mid-to-Long-Term Growth

Jaeheon Jung, President and CEO of SK Telecom, is announcing investment plans at the Vision for Advanced Industry Development in the Yeongnam Region National Report Meeting hosted by President Jae-myung Lee on the 3rd in Jinju, Gyeongsangnam-do. Photo by Yonhap News

SK Telecom's artificial intelligence (AI) data center business is taking concrete shape. As the only domestic company equipped with infrastructure, models, and services across the board—and with support at the group level—SK Telecom is expected to strengthen its presence in the data center business across the Asia region.

According to Mirae Asset Securities on July 26, the company recently raised its target price for SK Telecom by 22.4% to 120,000 won. It also maintained its 'buy' investment opinion. As of July 24, the closing price was 100,000 won.

Mirae Asset Securities noted that SK Telecom is moving beyond its traditional role as a telecommunications service provider. The brokerage firm analyzed that significant growth is expected in data center profit.

The key element is the newly established data center subsidiary, SK Hyper. On July 23, SK Telecom announced its plan to establish SK Hyper as a new company specializing in data centers. To lay the foundation for this business, SK Telecom plans to invest a total of 75 billion won by 2030. Of that, approximately 33 billion won is expected to be injected within July, and the remaining amount will be invested in phases.

SK Hyper will be a wholly owned subsidiary of SK Telecom, tasked with responsibilities such as securing land for data centers, procuring power, building substations and transmission/distribution networks, attracting clients, and operations. Mirae Asset Securities researcher Choi Yujin commented, "This is the first step in implementing the 15GW-scale AI data center initiative, one of Korea’s three mega projects announced at the end of June," and added, "It is a signal for mid- to long-term earnings growth."

SK Telecom’s AI data center in Ulsan is expected to begin phased operations gradually in the second half of 2027. The project is projected to scale up to 5GW initially and expand into the Yeongnam and Southwest regions by 2035, ultimately reaching a total of 15GW. Once funding, business models, and demand are concretely confirmed, SK Telecom’s company-wide revenue contribution from this sector is expected to increase noticeably starting in 2028.

SK Telecom’s prominent strength lies in being the only domestic player with a full AI stack. Choi pointed out, "SK Telecom can not only build AI infrastructure, models, and services but also receive support at the group level." She emphasized, "Choosing to build an AI data center is a strategic move to secure mid-to-long-term growth engines and also gives SK Telecom a structural advantage over competitors in terms of changes to the telecommunications service landscape."

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