Data Centers in Seoul

Seoul – Asia's High-Performance Digital Hub

Executive Summary

Seoul is a premier market for enterprises requiring high-density compute and low-latency connectivity to serve East Asia. With its advanced network infrastructure, direct access to major cloud providers, and a stable, albeit expensive, power grid, Seoul provides a reliable foundation for mission-critical applications and digital services targeting one of the world's most connected populations. This market is engineered for performance-sensitive workloads where uptime and speed directly impact revenue.

Seoul: At A Glance

Network & Connectivity Ecosystem

Seoul's connectivity is world-class, built on a foundation of dense fiber and competitive carrier access. The market provides exceptional performance for reaching end-users within South Korea and across the APAC region.

Carrier Density & Carrier Neutrality With 39 data centers from over 28 providers, the market offers access to a diverse ecosystem of domestic and international carriers as of September 2025. This ensures competitive pricing and resilient connectivity options for any deployment.

Direct Cloud On-Ramps Seoul has over 7 dedicated cloud on-ramps, enabling direct, private connections to major hyperscalers, as of October 2024. Available providers include Alibaba Cloud, AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Oracle Cloud. This robust access across 5 cloud regions minimizes latency and improves application security.

Internet Exchange Points (IXPs) The primary Internet Exchange in the market is the KINX. It provides a central peering point that reduces transit costs and improves network performance for traffic within South Korea. Most large-scale peering remains private.

Bare Metal Bare metal server options are readily available from multiple providers in Seoul. Global suppliers like Hivelocity and phoenixNAP offer dedicated servers, providing an alternative to virtualized cloud instances for workloads requiring maximum performance and control.

Power Analysis

Power in Seoul is reliable but comes at a premium compared to other regional hubs.

Average Cost Of Power Industrial power rates for large businesses are approximately ₩182.70/kWh (≈ $0.13/kWh), as of October 2024. This relatively high cost is a critical factor for budgeting high-density deployments.

Power Grid Reliability The power grid serving major data center zones in Seoul is well-engineered and highly reliable. Facilities are typically supported by redundant substations, ensuring stable operations for mission-critical infrastructure. The grid's energy mix is dominated by fossil fuels and nuclear power.

Market Access, Business & Tax Climate

Seoul offers strategic access to a massive, digitally fluent consumer and business market.

Proximity To Key Business Districts Data centers are strategically located near major business districts like Gangnam (GBD) and the Digital Media City (DMC). This proximity supports financial services, media, and technology companies that depend on low-latency access to their digital infrastructure.

Regional Market Reach A deployment in Seoul effectively serves the entire South Korean population of over 51 million. Its strategic location also provides low-latency network paths to Japan, northern China, and other key markets in Northeast Asia.

Tax Advantage For Data Centers South Korea does not offer specific tax incentives for data center construction or operation. Businesses should plan based on the standard corporate tax structure and 10% VAT.

Natural Disaster Risk

South Korea has a Very Low overall natural disaster risk profile, with an INFORM Risk score of 2.1 out of 10 as of September 2025. The country's infrastructure and coping capacity are well-developed, mitigating the primary environmental threats.

Key natural hazards include:

• Tropical Cyclone: 8.3/10
• River Flood: 7.1/10
• Coastal Flood: 7.1/10
• Earthquake: 6.9/10
• Tsunami: 5.7/10