| KT's head of global business Moon Sung-wook, left, poses with his counterpart at the Korea Land & Housing Corporation (LH), Lee Yong-sam, after the two companies signed an agreement to work together to build KT internet data centers overseas markets. / Courtesy of KT |
By Kim Bo-eun
KT has partnered with the Korea Land & Housing Corporation (LH) to build overseas internet data centers, the telecom firm said Monday, with the two firms signing a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MOU) the same day.
The company is seeking to set up the data centers in industrial centers and smart cities, based on its expertise in that segment. KT currently operates 13 data centers in Korea, including Seoul's largest hyper-scale data center in Yongsan, which opened in November.
The two companies plan to install KT data centers in industrial centers that LH has built overseas. KT intends to offer services in digital transformation to Korean and foreign companies in the industrial complexes.
LH's role is to expand customer-tailored infrastructure for the firms in the complexes to heighten their competitiveness in information and communications technology.
It has been scaling up its business in overseas smart cities and industrial complexes, backed by the government's plan to globalize its Korean New Deal project. The government unveiled a 160 trillion won project in July 2020 to create 1.9 million jobs by 2025 in the digital and green sectors.
The state-run firm is seeking to undertake 35 projects in 19 countries, starting with the Korea-Myanmar Industrial Complex that kicked off in December last year.
"LH will help companies in overseas industrial complexes innovate by using our digital platform capabilities," KT's head of global business Moon Sung-wook was quoted as saying in a press release. "We will develop specific digital transformation strategies according to each market, contributing to the vitalization of industrial complexes overseas."
LH's head of global business Lee Yong-sam said, "We are anticipating synergy to be created with LH's expertise in developing new cities and industrial complexes and KT's differentiated capabilities in information and communication technology. We plan on expanding cooperation with related firms abroad to help Korean companies' entry into foreign markets."