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According to Cushman & Wakefield, South Korea is forecast to generate approximately $4.1 billion in annual colocation rental revenue by 2030
In sum – what to know
$13.6B investment need – South Korea is expected to require approximately $13.6 billion in capex to support its colocation data center pipeline through 2030.
255MW pre-leased – The country recorded approximately 255MW of pre-leased capacity in H1 2026, highlighting continued demand despite its relatively mature market.
Power shapes expansion – High development costs and limited power availability are increasingly influencing where new data centers can be built across South Korea.
South Korea is expected to require approximately $13.6 billion in capital expenditure to support its colocation data center pipeline through 2030 as demand for artificial intelligence, cloud services and digital infrastructure continues to expand.
According to Cushman & Wakefield’s 2026 Asia Pacific Data Center Investment Landscape, the country is forecast to generate approximately $4.1 billion in annual colocation rental revenue by 2030. South Korea recorded approximately 255MW of pre-leased capacity as of the first half of 2026, reflecting continued occupier demand despite its relatively mature data center market.
The Korean outlook forms part of a broader expansion across Asia Pacific. Operational data center asset values across the region are projected to exceed $950 billion by 2030, while more than $280 billion in Capex will be required to support the region’s colocation development pipeline through the end of the decade.
High costs support investment challenge
South Korea is among the more expensive Asia Pacific markets for data center development. Cushman & Wakefield estimates development costs, including land, at approximately $13 million per megawatt.
Despite those costs, the report forecasts a yield on cost of approximately 9% to 10% for South Korea, broadly in line with regional averages.
The firm said the investment opportunity is being driven by accelerating AI adoption, cloud expansion, and digital transformation. It also identified power availability, scalability, and infrastructure readiness as increasingly important considerations for developers and investors.
Seoul capacity constraints push expansion
The challenges around location and infrastructure are also reflected in a recent interview with Andrew Green, head of Cushman & Wakefield’s Asia Pacific data center group, published by the Korea JoongAng Daily.
Green said Seoul’s data center vacancy rate stood at 1.1% in the first half of 2026. The city had 663MW of operational data center capacity, compared with 1,397MW in Tokyo and 1,068MW in Singapore.
Rather than proximity to Seoul being the primary consideration for new facilities, Green said access to electricity is increasingly determining where developers can build. “The primary driver is access to power rather than proximity alone,” Green said.
He said developers are increasingly looking for “powered land,” or sites where sufficient electricity is already available or where there is a tangible plan for timely energization. Green added that developers are willing to consider secondary locations if they can secure substantial power capacity while maintaining acceptable network performance.
Busan, Ulsan and Gangwon are among the locations being considered outside the greater Seoul area, according to the report.
“Compared with power, water is generally a localized constraint rather than a nationwide bottleneck,” Green said. “Power directly determines whether a project can proceed and when it can be delivered.”
