Hyundai directs $6.3B to Saemangeum for first robot plant, data center

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Hyundai directs $6.3B to Saemangeum for first robot plant, data center

Published: 27 Feb. 2026, 13:29 Updated: 01 Mar. 2026, 17:42

SARAH CHEA
[email protected]

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

President Lee Jae Myung, left, shakes hands with Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung during an investment pledge ceremony in Saemangeum, North Jeolla, on Feb. 27. [YONHAP]

Hyundai Motor Group will invest 9 trillion won ($6.3 billion) in Korea’s Saemangeum, North Jeolla, to build the country’s first dedicated robot plant and a large-scale AI data center.

The announcement follows a commitment made in November, when Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang visited Seoul and pledged to supply Hyundai with 50,000 GPUs. Hyundai inked a memorandum of understanding with the Korean government on Friday, attended by President Lee Jae Myung and Hyundai Executive Chair Euisun Chung.

Saemangeum, with the world’s longest 33.9-kilometer (21-mile) seawall connecting Buan and Kunsan, both in North Jeolla, is the country's largest government-led land reclamation project on Korea’s west coast. The area is being developed as a strategic industrial, logistics, and renewable energy hub for future economic growth.

The group will allocate 5.8 trillion won to construct an AI data center designed to support autonomous driving systems and robotics training. The 50,000 GPUs secured from Nvidia will be deployed at the facility, with the construction slated for 2027 for a goal of completion in 2029.

Separately, a total of 400 billion won will be poured into building the country’s first robot manufacturing plant, which will mass-produce wearable and logistics robots. Construction will start in 2028 to be completed in 2029, but specific production plans — including whether humanoid models such as Atlas will be manufactured — have yet to be finalized.

“Korea’s most pressing challenge is to sustain growth and development, yet the greatest impediment is the overconcentration in the capital area; provincial regions are withering away, while the capital itself is becoming so overcrowded that it risks reaching a breaking point," President Lee said during the event in Saemangeum on Friday.

“Despite those challenges, I would like to extend my sincere gratitude, on behalf of Koreans, to Hyundai Motor Group for making what may have been a bold and risky decision in trusting the government. Founding Chairman Chung Ju-yung would be very proud."

Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung, left, speaks with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang in their speech at the 2025 GeForce Gamer Festival in southern Seoul on Oct. 30. [YONHAP]

Hyundai will also spend roughly 1 trillion won to install and operate the country’s largest water electrolysis plant to produce and distribute green hydrogen. An additional 1.3 trillion won will be allocated to solar power facilities to supply renewable electricity to the electrolysis plant, a proposed AI hydrogen city and the data center.

A further 400 billion won will be deployed to cultivate an integrated urban and industrial ecosystem — spanning hydrogen production, AI-driven analytics and robotic applications — with the goal of transforming the waterfront district into a hydrogen-based, AI-powered future city.

The latest investment is projected to generate some 71,000 jobs and catalyze significant economic spillovers, including the arrival of global partner companies.

Relevant ministries and local governments have pledged to expedite permitting and improve residential and transportation infrastructure to ensure timely implementation and maximize regional growth.

“The next-generation industrial paradigm taking shape in Saemangeum will serve as the fulcrum of a great transformation, not only for North Jeolla but for the future of Korea,” said Hyundai Vice Chairman Chang Jae-hoon. “With deep manufacturing expertise and robust capabilities across robotics, AI and hydrogen energy, we are prepared to build a cutting-edge industrial ecosystem.”

BY SARAH CHEA [[email protected]]