South Korea's data centres draw 6 TWh of electricity a year, which places it 9th of the 33 countries this atlas carries a figure for.
That is 1.0% of everything the country generates — around the 1.2% median across those countries.
Set against 2.4 GW of installed capacity, that implies a 29% load factor.
One metro is tracked here: Seoul / Icheon, at 698 MW and operating.
Its strongest showing anywhere in the atlas is Memory & Storage on the physical basis, at #1 of 7.
It does not register at all on Networking.
10 suppliers are domiciled here, booking roughly $350bn between them; the largest is Samsung Electronics.
Its single strongest grip on the buildout is HBM, where firms domiciled here hold 74% of global supply in a sub-layer weighted 0.95 for how hard it is to substitute.
About $7.4bn of AI infrastructure investment has been announced for South Korea, though announced is not built — that figure is graded B.
National context
Where South Korea ranks
The same tables read three ways. A country can lead one basis and be invisible on another, and that gap is the whole point of the atlas.
| Tier | Physicalassets here | Ownershiprevenue booked | Controlcould stop you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Silicon | #3of 14 | #7of 9 | #5of 10 |
| Memory & Storage | #1of 7 | #1of 5 | #1of 5 |
| Networking | — | — | — |
| Systems & Facility | #12of 54 | — | #8of 9 |
| Power & Grid | #9of 77 | #9of 17 | #4of 12 |
Data centre metros (1)
| Seoul / Icheon — Operating698 MW at under 10% vacancy. Also the world's centre of HBM production. | 698 MW A |
Supply positions
Share of each global sub-layer held by firms domiciled here, and how hard that sub-layer would be to substitute. Those two multiplied are what the control basis ranks on.
Silicon
| Sub-layer | Share | Substitutability |
|---|---|---|
| Design & IP | 1% B | ×0.85 |
| Foundry | 7% A | ×0.98 |
| Advanced packaging | 8% C | ×0.92 |
| Semicap equipment | 5% B | ×0.96 |
| Wafers & materials | 12% C | ×0.75 |
Strongest single grip: Wafers & materials — 12% × 0.75 substitutability weight.
Memory & Storage
| Sub-layer | Share | Substitutability |
|---|---|---|
| HBM | 74% B | ×0.95 |
| Conventional DRAM | 67% B | ×0.90 |
| NAND | 54% C | ×0.75 |
| Enterprise SSD | 45% C | ×0.55 |
| Controllers | 15% C | ×0.40 |
Strongest single grip: HBM — 74% × 0.95 substitutability weight.
Systems & Facility
| Sub-layer | Share | Substitutability |
|---|---|---|
| Construction & EPC | 8% C | ×0.35 |
Strongest single grip: Construction & EPC — 8% × 0.35 substitutability weight.
Power & Grid
| Sub-layer | Share | Substitutability |
|---|---|---|
| Transformers & switchgear | 9% C | ×0.80 |
| Cables & HVDC | 12% C | ×0.90 |
| On-site power & backup | 5% C | ×0.45 |
| Nuclear & SMR | 14% C | ×0.70 |
Strongest single grip: Cables & HVDC — 12% × 0.90 substitutability weight.
Suppliers domiciled here (10)
| Samsung Electronics — DRAM, HBM, NANDMemory & StorageLed DRAM at 38% share in Q1 2026 and is recovering HBM position via HBM3e/HBM4. | $240bn |
| SK hynix — DRAM, HBM, NANDMemory & Storage56.4% of HBM revenue in Q1 2026, from 63.2% across 2025 — still the tightest single position in memory, but no longer widening. | $70bn |
| Samsung Foundry — FoundrySilicon6.5% of foundry revenue in Q1 2026. | $14bn |
| Solidigm — Enterprise SSDMemory & StorageSK hynix subsidiary; classified by parent domicile. | $5bn |
| LS Cable & System — HV cablePower & Grid | $5bn |
| Doosan Enerbility — Turbines, nuclear forgingsPower & GridLarge forgings capacity is itself a chokepoint. | $5bn |
| HD Hyundai Electric — Power transformersPower & GridMajor exporter into the US transformer shortage. | $3bn |
| LS Electric — Switchgear, transformersPower & Grid | $3bn |
| Hyosung Heavy Industries — Transformers, HVDCPower & Grid | $3bn |
| Taihan Cable & Solution — HV cablePower & Grid | $2bn |
Revenue is the group or segment figure closest to each tier's perimeter. Segment boundaries differ between issuers, so treat the split as indicative.