[AI의 심장] 해남에 '초대형 컴퓨팅센터' 박차...광주의 교훈은? / YTN

[Anchor] This is the fifth installment of our special report looking into data centers, often called the heart of artificial intelligence technology. The only state-led AI data center in Korea is located in Gwangju. While there were concerns last year due to a significant drop in utilization rates, we examined the current status and looked at what the massive 'National AI Computing Center' to be built in Haenam might look like. Reporter Koh Han-seok covered the story. [Reporter] This is Korea's only national AI data center, located in Gwangju. The government, Gwangju City, and NHN invested over 600 billion won to equip it with 1,120 of NVIDIA's advanced 'H100' GPUs. Companies and research institutes use these resources virtually for free. Last year, over 600 companies utilized the National AI Data Center. They used the GPUs and storage space located here to research and develop AI technologies. Although the center has supported over 4,000 research projects since 2023, the utilization rate suddenly dropped by half last year. Criticism has emerged that money was wasted on building data centers for which there is no demand. [Choi Hyung-doo / People Power Party Member (September 9): Half of them are sitting idle. At this rate, the national budget will turn into scrap metal. Do you know how long a GPU lasts? (I understand it is about 3 years.) That is correct. After 5 years, it becomes scrap metal, and after 3 years, it becomes obsolete.] However, the reason operations ceased was not due to a shortage of research institutes or companies wanting to use AI, but because budget constraints prevented the funds from covering the electricity and maintenance costs to run the GPUs. [Lee Il-jun / Head of Cloud Business Division, NHN: Currently, about 200 companies have been allocated and are using them. The utilization rate is currently close to 100%.] The National AI Computing Center, which the Lee Jae-myung administration is promoting under the slogan of the "AI Top 3," is more than 10 times the size of the Gwangju Center. After two failed bids, Samsung SDS participated, selected Haenam, South Jeolla Province as the location, and is accelerating the project. The difference from Gwangju is that a significant portion of the 2.5 trillion won project cost will be covered by the National Growth Fund. [Lee Won-geon / Chairman of the Financial Services Commission (October 19): For the first round of mega-projects, we selected a candidate pool of seven projects with significant economic ripple effects across the entire regional and industrial ecosystem, including AI, semiconductors, and secondary batteries….] Since public funds are being invested, the requirement that AI technology development must translate into profits is a burden. This is because the purpose of the National AI Computing Center is to support "challenging tasks." [Lee Il-jun / Head of Business Division, NHN Cloud Business Headquarters: There are quite a few cases where research results do not exceed the expected value of purchasing GPUs. Therefore, companies tend to hesitate greatly in making such investments, but the government is actively making upfront investments in challenging tasks….] If the National AI Computing Center is completed in Haenam by 2029 as planned, Haenam and Gwangju are expected to become key hubs for the public AI research and industrial ecosystem. ** For these places to become "gooses that lay eggs" rather than "money-eating hippos," they require not only massive initial capital but also unwavering budgetary support over the long term. This is Koh Han-seok from YTN. It is Ko Han-seok. Video Reporter: Jin Hyung-wook ※ ‘Your Tip Becomes News’ [KakaoTalk] Search for YTN and add the channel [Phone] 02-398-8585 [Email] [email protected] YTN Koh Han-seok ([email protected]) ▶ Original Article: https://www.ytn.co.kr/_ln/0115_202601... ▶ Send a Tip: https://mj.ytn.co.kr/mj/mj_write.php ▣ Subscribe to YTN YouTube Channel: http://goo.gl/Ytb5SZ ⓒ YTN Unauthorized reproduction, redistribution, and use of AI data are prohibited.