Bruce Flatt, CEO of Brookfield, left, and Jun Park, head of Brookfield Korea, center, visit Naver’s second headquarters, 1784, in Gyeonggi on Sept. 3. Brookfield and Naver executives discussed their planned joint AI factory project during the meeting.NAVER
[INTERVIEW]
Institutional investors are stepping up their push into Korea’s AI infrastructure market, using increasingly varied investment structures — from joint ventures to dedicated vehicles backing local AI infrastructure projects.
Brookfield is among the major funds at the forefront of the investment push.
After acquiring two data centers in the greater Seoul area with local partners, the New York-based alternative asset manager announced in July that it would expand its bet by establishing a special purpose vehicle to invest in Naver's AI factory project. The move signals a broader push into Korea’s AI infrastructure, with the firm targeting 30 trillion won ($22 billion) in assets under management in Korea by 2030, nearly double the current 17 trillion won.
“It will be across all the asset classes in which we’re active: infrastructure, energy and real estate,” said Jun Park, head of Brookfield Korea, in a written interview with the Korea JoongAng Daily.
“Investment in AI infrastructure including data centers is expected to be a significant contributor to infrastructure AUM [asset under management]. However, we are also interested in investments aligned with the megainvestment themes of decarbonization and deglobalization, too. Our expectation is that we’ll continue to invest significantly over the long term,” Park added.
Brookfield Korea head Jun ParkBROOKFIELD
Brookfield has already built a portfolio spanning data centers and energy infrastructure. In July, the firm announced plans to provide up to $9 billion to support Korean technology giant Naver’s AI factory project, which aims to develop 200 megawatts of sovereign compute capacity.
The move builds on its development of two data centers in the greater Seoul area — with one operational and the other under construction — through its wholly owned subsidiary, DCI Data Centers, in a joint venture with local developers Daelim and Koramco Asset Management. The change illustrates how Brookfield’s approach to Korea has evolved from developing individual facilities to financing large-scale AI infrastructure projects with established local partners.
Other investments include the acquisition of SK Airplus, a gas production facility supplying SK hynix, in 2022, and the operating and development platform of Hanmaeum Energy, a solar-focused renewables platform, in 2024.
Brookfield has indicated that its future investments in Korea will involve more local partners.
“We have an active pipeline of investment opportunities across all asset classes and believe we’re a great partner for Korean firms,” Park added.
Below are edited excerpts from the interview.
Q. What makes Korea attractive to Brookfield as an investment market for AI infrastructure?
A. Korea is one of the most digitally advanced economies in the world and is experiencing rapidly growing demand for AI infrastructure. As AI adoption accelerates, we see a need for trusted, large-scale infrastructure capable of supporting the next generation of AI companies, enterprises and government applications.
To succeed in data centers, you need power, land, talent and capital. Power is the biggest bottleneck for data centers and AI infrastructure broadly. Behind-the-meter solutions are a critical part of the answer, along with more natural gas for firming and nuclear for baseload power in countries that support that technology.
Korea is an important market for Brookfield, and we continue to see attractive long-term opportunities linked to digitalization and AI-driven growth.
How does Brookfield assess the risk-return profile of Korean data centers relative to other major Asian markets?
When evaluating AI and digital infrastructure opportunities, we focus on the quality and duration of contracted cash flows, the strength of counterparties, demand fundamentals, power availability and long-term scalability. We will only invest in a market or an asset where we feel comfortable in meeting our return hurdles.
Naver's Gak Sejong facilityNAVER
Why pursue the latest investment through Naver rather than through a direct acquisition or development of data centers?
Our strategy is to invest directly as well as to partner with leading operators and businesses such as Naver. Partnering with an established local technology leader provides greater certainty around demand and operations.
Our partnership with Naver brings together complementary strengths. Brookfield contributes capital and infrastructure expertise while Naver contributes AI, cloud and data center operating capabilities.
What is Brookfield's outlook for Korea's AI infrastructure market?
We continue to be positive on the long-term outlook for Korea's data center and AI infrastructure market. Demand for AI computing capacity continues to grow rapidly, and we expect governments, enterprises and AI companies to require increasingly sophisticated infrastructure to support that growth.
The capital required to support digitalization and AI is staggering and will continue to create demand for large-scale capital from infrastructure investors like Brookfield in markets such as Korea.
