South Korea Weighs Nuclear Expansion as AI Lifts Power Demand
South Korea expects AI data centers and chip fabs to add up to 30 gigawatts of demand, pushing nuclear power back into the national AI strategy.
South Korea is preparing for a sharp rise in electricity demand as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix expand semiconductor production and new AI data centers are built, Climate, Energy and Environment Minister Kim Sung-hwan told Reuters. The AI-related increase alone could add 25 to 30 gigawatts of demand in coming years.
AI infrastructure reaches the energy ministry
The estimate combines the needs of data centers with those of advanced chip factories, two parts of the AI supply chain that are expanding simultaneously in South Korea. The country must also absorb additional electricity use from electric vehicles and the shift from gas-based heating to electric systems.
Kim said the government is considering a broader nuclear role as it plans how to secure reliable supply. The issue is not simply whether South Korea has enough generation capacity on paper. Data centers require dependable power in specific locations, while Seoul and the surrounding metropolitan region already attract a disproportionate share of proposed AI facilities. Concentrating demand near the capital could intensify grid constraints even if national generation rises.
The discussion illustrates how AI investment is altering energy policy before many facilities reach full operation. Chip manufacturing adds a second source of concentrated demand, making the electricity question inseparable from South Korea’s position in memory, advanced packaging and AI hardware.
Why it matters
For the AI industry, the story shifts attention from model announcements to the physical conditions required to run them. Nuclear construction takes years, and new generation does not automatically solve transmission, permitting or local opposition. But the projected 25–30 GW increase is large enough to influence where Asian data centers, fabs and model-serving capacity are built.
Uncle Cat take
The 25–30 GW estimate turns Korea’s AI ambition into an infrastructure deadline; reactor plans alone will not fix a capital-centered grid.