LG Uplus plans to build an ultra-large Internet Data Center (IDC) in Paju, Gyeonggi-do, which will be equivalent to the size of nine soccer fields.

To establish the new hyper-scale IDC, LG Uplus announced it will acquire the land and buildings owned by LG Display in Paju. A hyper-scale facility refers to a large data center capable of accommodating more than 100,000 servers.

The site area is approximately 73,712 square meters (about 22,298 pyeong), equivalent to about nine soccer fields. This is 4.2 times larger than LG Uplus’s existing hyper-scale IDC, ‘Pyeongchon Mega Center’ (approximately 17,282 square meters, 5,228 pyeong), and 9.7 times the size of ‘Pyeongchon 2 Center’ (approximately 7,550 square meters, 2,284 pyeong).

This new Paju IDC will be LG Uplus’s third hyper-scale IDC, and once operational, LG Uplus will become the only company in Korea to own three commercially operated hyper-scale IDCs.

The background for LG Uplus’s new IDC construction is to proactively respond to the explosive increase in data center demand due to the expanded adoption of generative AI among businesses and the acceleration of cloud transitions. Additionally, as more customers prefer ‘server redundancy’ methods that involve duplicating data for enhanced server stability and security, demand for IDCs has risen sharply.

In line with the AI era, LG Uplus aims to develop the Paju center into Korea’s leading ‘AI Data Center,’ optimized for the operation and management of high-performance Graphics Processing Units (GPUs). According to market research firm Allied Market Research, the global generative AI market is projected to grow at an average annual rate of 32% from 2022, reaching approximately $126.5 billion (around 174.25 trillion KRW) by 2031.

High-performance GPU servers used for AI require better heat management compared to traditional servers, making conventional air-cooling methods inadequate. LG Uplus plans to implement next-generation thermal management technologies like liquid cooling and immersion cooling at the Paju center’s design phase, which have lower power consumption and higher cooling efficiency than air cooling. This will maximize IDC operational efficiency and reliability while reducing carbon emissions and enhancing ESG aspects.

Leveraging more than 20 years of expertise in IDC operation and construction, LG Uplus aims to innovate a differentiated IDC customer experience. The company is continuously enhancing operations, with a focus on uninterrupted power supply, temperature management, and security/fire response. In fact, LG Uplus’s IDC business has seen an average revenue growth of more than 10% annually over the past five years.

Having ventured into the IDC business in 1999 as the first in Korea, LG Uplus has aggressively expanded its operations by opening several centers, starting from the Seoul Nonhyeon-dong center, followed by the Seocho 1 Center (2001), Seocho 2 Center (2002), Gasan Center (2009), Sangam Center (2013), Pyeongchon Mega Center (2015), and Pyeongchon 2 Center (2023).

LG Uplus’s first hyper-scale IDC, the ‘Pyeongchon Mega Center,’ received high praise for its energy-efficient design. It automated temperature control facilities, including chillers, cooling water pipes, and cooling fans, and implemented self-developed operational methods, saving 41,623,000 kWh (kilowatt-hours) of electricity annually, equivalent to the carbon emissions of planting 2.89 million pine trees.

The ‘Pyeongchon 2 Center,’ completed last year, has further enhanced energy efficiency with renewable energy systems, including geo-thermal heating and cooling facilities, solar and fuel cell-based energy systems, and automated water usage monitoring. Currently, the computer rooms are fully booked, reflecting strong recognition from customers.

A spokesperson from LG Uplus stated, “By securing a site for a hyper-scale IDC, we can proactively respond to the recent explosive increase in data center demand. Building on our know-how in attracting and stably operating data centers for over 20 domestic and international IT companies, we will continuously enhance our IDC business competitiveness.”

By Lee Sang-jin daedusj@autodiary.kr