[WeekPick Cloud] Interior Ministry Launches Full Survey on Public Cloud Transition... Domestic DC Market to Draw KRW 18.4 Trillion Investment by 2030

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety has launched a comprehensive cloud computing survey targeting all administrative and public institutions, in line with its goal of fully transitioning public information systems to the cloud by 2030. From the 1st to the 18th, the ministry will conduct the "Cloud Computing Comprehensive Survey" of information systems at all administrative and public institutions.

The survey is designed to check the current usage status of each institution's information systems and how prepared they are for the transition. The survey items include each institution's cloud usage status, adoption plans, whether cloud native has been applied, and whether transition budgets have been reflected.

The results will be used as basic data for establishing government-wide cloud policies and preparing a cloud transition roadmap. In the same vein, the 2027 budget proposal includes funding for moving public systems to private cloud and for building disaster recovery (DR) systems.

Meanwhile, investment demand in Korea's data center market is expected to rise amid the spread of AI and cloud services. The required investment size for Korea's data center market through 2030 was estimated at about KRW 18.4 trillion.

The survey will operate in 2 ways, dividing the process by registration status. For systems registered in IRM, the survey will be conducted through the platform, while for unregistered systems and systems scheduled for new construction, it will be carried out through a separate official notice followed by a fact-finding survey. The ministry said the purpose of this approach is to improve effectiveness and accuracy.

The main survey scope covers 5 areas and 25 detailed questions. The items consist of basic system information, cloud usage status information, whether the system is excluded from cloud transition and the reason, planned cloud transition information, and cloud and cloud-native transition performance. The amount invested in private cloud migration, as indicated in the subheading, is KRW 54.8 billion.

Based on the results of the comprehensive survey, the ministry plans to draw up a "Cloud Transition Roadmap for All Administrative and Public Institutions." The roadmap is aimed at public AX, and the deadline for preparation is by the end of the year. It will then go through follow-up procedures, including consultations with each institution, before being reported to the National Artificial Intelligence Strategy Committee.

Meanwhile, the ministry also outlined its budget formulation policy for the 2027 budget proposal. The budget proposal is KRW 84.7036 trillion, and the increase rate compared with this year's original budget is 10.1%. Of that amount, local allocation tax accounts for KRW 77.1899 trillion, and project expenditures account for KRW 7.0634 trillion.

Based on this, the ministry set its direction for concentrated fiscal investment around 4 core areas. Examples of the core areas include "building an AI Democratic Government," "strengthening public safety," and "balanced regional growth." The plan is to push ahead with fiscal investment centered on these core areas.

The government expanded the budget for cloud and AI infrastructure to strengthen the stability and continuity of digital government services. It newly allocated KRW 54.8 billion for the private cloud migration of public information systems, and increased the budget for the "government-wide dual operation system" project from KRW 252.3 billion to KRW 271.6 billion. The "government-wide dual operation system" is intended to build DR systems for major information systems directly tied to the public's daily life and safety.

The government also moved to fully roll out AI-based administrative service innovation projects. The budget for building the "AI Integrated Civil Petition Platform" was sharply increased from KRW 1.8 billion to KRW 20.3 billion, and the system is being developed to complete civil petition handling at a single AI window. The budget for expanding the government-wide rollout of "On AI," which supports public officials' administrative work, was also raised to KRW 54.2 billion.

Along with this, private-sector analysis was cited showing that demand for data centers in Korea is surging as AI and cloud services expand. Cushman & Wakefield presented this analysis in its "2026 Asia Pacific Data Center Investment Outlook" report.

According to the report, the required capital expenditure for Korea's data center market through 2030 is projected at about KRW 18.43 trillion. Over the same period, annual leasing revenue for domestic colocation data centers is projected at about KRW 5.56 trillion.

The report said pre-leased capacity in the Korean data center market in the first half of this year amounted to about 255 megawatts (MW). Domestic data center development costs, including land, were put at about KRW 17.6 billion per MW, making them one of the highest in the Asia-Pacific region. However, the return on investment was estimated at 9% to 10%, and profitability was seen as remaining stable.

It also said high-performance AI data centers require liquid cooling systems. It added that liquid cooling systems require an additional 25% to 35% in capital expenditure compared with conventional air-cooled facilities, and that securing a stable power grid is emerging as a key factor.

Source: IT DAILY · Kwon Young-seok
Original: https://www.itdaily.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=241447

References

• https://www.itdaily.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=241447