Chairman Cho Hyun-joon Continues Power Equipment Success Story with AI Data Centers

Hyosung Chairman Cho Hyun-joon is teaming up with Bruno Lopez, Representative Director and Group CEO of ST Telemedia Global Data Centres (STT GDC)—a rapidly growing data center operator based in Asia and Europe—to target the South Korean data center market, which is projected to be valued at KRW 20 trillion by 2030.

The joint venture between Hyosung Heavy Industries and STT GDC, Hyosung-STT GDC, has officially launched its data center business with the opening of "STT Seoul 1," a hyperscale data center located in Gasan-dong, Geumcheon-gu, Seoul and built to support cloud and AI technologies.

□ Opening of "STT Seoul 1," a 30MW Hyperscale Data Center

STT Seoul 1 was built by combining Hyosung Heavy Industries' power solution capabilities with STT GDC's global standards across design, operations, and services. As a 30MW hyperscale data center, it is engineered to support a wide range of cloud and AI deployment demands, and is fully capable of handling increasingly sophisticated, high-density workloads.

A key feature of STT Seoul 1 is its ability to deliver up to 30MW of IT capacity right within Seoul, where securing power infrastructure is notoriously difficult. While energy regulations and power grid constraints have recently driven large-scale data centers to relocate to the outskirts of the Seoul metropolitan area or regional provinces, STT Seoul 1 sets itself apart with its strategic location at the heart of downtown Seoul. Situated in the Gasan Digital Complex,

STT Seoul 1 is adjacent to major business hubs like Gangnam and Yeouido, thereby minimizing data latency. Security and reliability have been elevated to global standards as well. By applying international security frameworks designed to counter various threats such as external intrusions and natural disasters, the facility has established a system for proactively managing potential risks and operational vulnerabilities. It has also acquired Tier III Certification of Design Documents (TCDD)[i] from the Uptime Institute, ensuring that servers remain uninterrupted even during equipment maintenance or failure scenarios; thus securing high service continuity and operational stability.

"Recognizing long ago that data would become the 'crude oil of the 21st century' and anticipating an era where AI competitiveness equates to national competitiveness, we embarked on building this data center—the heart of AI—here in Gasan, within the metropolitan area of 20 million people,” Chairman Cho Hyun-joon said during the opening ceremony.

“STT Seoul 1 is the fruit of STT GDC's expertise and Hyosung's power solution capabilities. It will serve as core infrastructure backing the growth of South Korea's AI industry as well as a new milestone driving our future competitiveness. We will nurture the data center business as Hyosung’s new growth engine to reshape the paradigm of the global AI ecosystem well beyond Korea.” Chairman Cho added.

□ Chairman Cho's Special Order: "Mobilize All Core Capabilities into the AI Data Center Business"

The importance of high-performance data center infrastructure is skyrocketing amid the increasing proliferation of AI-driven services and rising global data demands. In response, Chairman Cho Hyun-joon issued a special order to concentrate the group's core capabilities on the AI data center business.

Kwon Oh-joung: Hyosung plans to establish a differentiated AI data center business model by leveraging synergies among its affiliates.

Hyosung Heavy Industries will ensure both operational stability and power efficiency for the AI data centers, drawing on its energy-efficient technologies and power equipment expertise including ultra-high voltage transformers and circuit breakers. It also plans to systematically secure specialized AI data center technologies and construction know-how based on its track record in building liquefaction plants and hydrogen refueling stations.

Hyosung ITX will integrate its existing IT business expertise—including cloud, Content Delivery Network (CDN), and Digital Transformation (DX) solutions—into the overall operations of the AI data centers. It plans to boost the technological credibility and safety of the data centers by establishing traffic optimization and security management systems.

"Hyosung is a company equipped with world-class technology that is on a par with those of the global top four power equipment manufacturers, exceptional construction and engineering capabilities, and nearly 30 years’ accumulated IT operational experience. The AI data center business is the ultimate culmination of Hyosung's core capabilities, and we must develop it as a future growth axis for the group," Chairman Cho stressed.

□ 2019 First Meeting with CEO Lopez: Shared Vision for Cultivating the Data Center Market

Chairman Cho began exploring the data center business as a future growth driver back in 2017 when he formed a dedicated data center Task Force (TF). At the time, the domestic data center industry had not yet entered its full-fledged growth trajectory. In a market that was practically uncharted territory, Chairman Cho recognized data centers as a vital pillar of future industrial infrastructure and sought potential collaboration with STT GDC as a global partner.

The cooperation between the two sides gained rapid momentum following a meeting between Chairman Cho and CEO Lopez in Seoul in 2019. The data center industry was a relatively unfamiliar concept in Korea at the time, but both leaders agreed that it would grow into the foundational infrastructure of the AI, cloud, and digital transformation eras. They also shared a mutual commitment to cultivating the data center business into a core future growth enterprise.

Singapore-based STT GDC is a leading global data center specialist operating a portfolio of over 100 data centers across 12 countries in Asia and Europe, with IT capacity of approximately 2.3GW.

Hyosung Heavy Industries and STT GDC signed a strategic partnership in 2021 and established the joint venture Hyosung-STT GDC for the joint development and operation of AI data centers.

□ Chairman Cho's Aggressive Global Move: "Circling the Globe 4 Times a Year" to Unearth Future Businesses

The business community sees this partnership as a direct fruit of Chairman Cho's global management approach. Chairman Cho has maintained a broad network of exchanges with global corporate leaders across diverse industries, built during his academic years at St. Paul's School in the US, Yale University, and Keio University Law School in Japan.

Last year alone, Chairman Cho engaged in aggressive global management, traveling a distance equivalent to more than four laps around the Earth. He personally visited over 20 core global sites across 10 countries including the United States, Europe, Japan, and India. Chairman Cho met face-to-face with prominent economic figures, key political and diplomatic dignitaries, and energy and IT industry leaders in each region to map out strategies for securing Hyosung's mid- to long-term competitiveness amid a rapidly changing international landscape.

In particular, meetings with key figures who will shape the future direction of the global power and energy industries served as a catalyst for clarifying Hyosung's strategic path. Chairman Cho held in-depth discussions on structural changes and collaboration opportunities in the energy, AI, and IT industries with leaders including US Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Executive Director Fatih Birol of the International Energy Agency (IEA), and Oracle CEO Safra Catz.