February 20, 2025
SEOUL – South Korea is set to become home to the world’s largest artificial intelligence data center, spearheaded by a third-generation member of the LG Group, and attention is turning to the man leading the project.
The project is reportedly led by Stock Farm Road, an investor group co-founded by LG heir Brian Koo, and Amin Badr-El-Din, founder and CEO of Jordan-based BADR Investments, according to The Wall Street Journal and industry sources Wednesday.
As the eldest son of LS Group’s late founding chair Koo Ja-hong, and the grandson of Koo In-hwoi, the founder of LG Group, Brian Koo has never held an official position within LS Group, nor does he retain any ownership stakes. Though speculation that he may eventually join the conglomerate has persisted, he has remained independent of LS Group’s management.
Holding a BA in economics and MBA from Stanford University, Koo has pursued a career as an entrepreneur and investor. In 2011, he founded the investment firm Formation Group, and has been active in venture capital, making early investments in companies such as Oculus and Coupang.
Up to $35 billion will be invested by an investor group in the data center, which will have a capacity of three gigawatts, making it one of the largest AI data facilities in the world, the sources said.
The WSJ report said three gigawatts is nearly three times the planned capacity of a data center complex in Texas that OpenAI and SoftBank Group are funding as part of their Stargate project in the US.
While WSJ did not disclose the exact location of the data center, it indicated that construction is planned for a remote southwestern area and that completion is targeted for 2028.
The report also noted that investors have signed an agreement with South Jeolla Province for support in securing power and water resources, suggesting a potential site in the region.
However, global supply chain constraints and US tech giant Nvidia’s ongoing AI chip shortages may delay the construction of data centers worldwide, including this Korean project, WSJ warned.
Stock Farm Road has committed an initial investment of $10 billion, with a long-term goal of injecting up to $35 billion into the project.
Amid surging global AI demand, major data center developments are accelerating not only in the US and Europe but also in emerging hubs such as Korea, Malaysia, Thailand and India, where lower land and labor costs provide a competitive edge.
Jingwen Ong, Asia-Pacific research manager at DC Byte, said, “If costs can be controlled and construction proceeds swiftly, Korea’s data center market can be highly competitive.”