What happened in Gumi
A planned AI data center of up to 300MW in Gumi, South Korea, has fallen through, Hankyung reported on Nov 9, citing the investment banking industry.
Anthropic officials visited Korea and discussed leasing the data center, but the final contract did not happen because of site issues and other reasons, according to Hankyung. The reports do not say that Anthropic has commented publicly.
The project was phase 1 of an AI data center cluster that Gumi city planned to build at up to 1.3GW, Hankyung reported. Foreign asset managers, together with Korean securities firms and financial companies, discussed how to fund it, according to Hankyung. The site's land use change was completed in early June, but construction never started.
Why the deal fell through
Anthropic asked for the height differences on the site to be removed and the land leveled flat, Hankyung reported. Infrastructure work on the site was already finished, so more construction was not easy, Hankyung reported.
Anthropic needs to secure data centers quickly, and considering construction time and stability it chose another candidate site overseas, Hankyung reported, without naming that site.
An investment banking official told Hankyung, in Korean, that meeting the expectations of global big tech companies, the buyers of data centers, is not easy. KED Global, the English sister site of Hankyung, framed the story as lenders demanding committed customers before providing financing.
Anthropic has been moving fast on power and compute; see our report on its OnePWR generator deal.
Why one tenant decides a 300MW project
300MW is mammoth scale among AI data centers planned in Korea, Hankyung reported. Small and mid-size data centers can open in stages after leasing only 30% to 40% of capacity, but facilities of hundreds of MW are hard to move forward without a long-term contract with a large tenant, according to Hankyung.
Another investment banking official told Hankyung that in the past, securing about 30% of total lease volume was enough to develop, but lately financial firms demand 50% or more. There is growing concern that developing without firm tenant demand could lead to oversupply like logistics warehouses, the official said.
Korean lenders usually do not fund unless real tenant demand is confirmed, and they look at the tenant's credit, lease term and pre-lease rate, Hankyung reported.
Other Korean data center projects in trouble
The number of data centers in Korea rose from 156 in 2020 to 182 last year, and 72 projects are seeking permits or financing, Hankyung reported, citing the Korea Data Center Council.
SK is building a data center with AWS in Ulsan with a long-term plan to grow to 1GW, and GS is seeking permits for a 2.4GW AI data center in stages at Bukpyeong industrial complex in Donghae, Gangwon, according to Hankyung.
Shinsegae Group's planned 250MW AI data center still has no confirmed site, Hankyung reported; Shinsegae signed an MOU with US AI firm Reflection AI in March, and seven months later no site has been disclosed.
In June, SK's plan for an 800 billion won, 30MW data center in Suseong Alpha City, Daegu, fell through when SK left and the land sale contract was not signed, according to Hankyung. Daegu is looking for a new private operator.
An 800 billion won data center in Wonju Innovation City, involving Hurim Group, developer Sunjin CCS and Meritz Securities under a 2023 investment agreement with Wonju, planned to break ground in H1 2024 and open in 2027 but has been delayed because it has no tenant, Hankyung reported.
For other Korea AI infrastructure news, see our report on Rebellions' R200 NVLink Fusion work with SK Telecom.
Background: the Gumi cluster plan
The Gumi cluster was announced in December 2025. North Gyeongsang Province and Gumi signed an MOU with the Quantum XI consortium for the Gumi Advanced AI Data Center Cluster in Gumi High-Tech Valley, the National 5th Industrial Complex, according to Asia Business Daily and Maeil Business. The consortium is led by Rohod Partners and includes Quantum XI, Nscale, NH Investment & Securities and KB Securities. Phase 1 covers 300MW with about 4.5 trillion won for construction and infrastructure; Asia Business Daily said it aimed to break ground in Q1 2026. The cluster totals 1.3GW in three phases.
Hankyung's Nov 9 report did not name the developer of the project that fell through.
Data center votes in the US
Hankyung also noted US midterm local votes on Nov 3 that banned or limited data center construction; see our report on the ballot measures. A UBS analysis cited by Hankyung said construction limits could put about 30% of planned 2028 US data center capacity additions at risk of delay or cancellation. CoreWeave shares fell 10% on Nov 5, according to Hankyung.
What to watch
- Whether Gumi finds a tenant or a new operator for phase 1 of the cluster.
- The site decision for Shinsegae Group's planned 250MW AI data center.
- Daegu's search for a new operator and the schedule of the delayed Wonju project.
