“A Lottery Could Cost Chuncheon Major Companies” — Controversy Over Sales Method for Chuncheon Hydrothermal Energy Cluster

【Financial News Chuncheon = Kim Ki-seop】Concerns are growing that Chuncheon could miss an opportunity to attract major companies because the sales method for data-center sites at the Chuncheon Hydrothermal Energy Convergence and Complex Cluster is limited to a lottery.
According to Gangwon State and Chuncheon on the 8th, domestic and international big tech companies, including Shinsegae Group and Reflection AI, have expressed intentions to invest tens of trillions of won in data-center sites at the Chuncheon Hydrothermal Energy Convergence and Complex Cluster. They reportedly want to sign contracts by the end of this year at the latest to avoid falling behind in market competition.
Gangwon State and Chuncheon are therefore calling for the sales method to be changed to negotiated contracts so that qualified companies can be selected. However, MOLIT, which holds the authority to make the decision, is insisting on the current lottery system on grounds of fairness, leaving negotiations at an impasse.
The Chuncheon Hydrothermal Energy Convergence and Complex Cluster is a future-industry complex spanning 815,000 square meters in the Jinae-ri area of Dong-myeon, Chuncheon. Selected in 2017 as part of MOLIT’s competition for investment promotion districts, the project is being jointly developed by Korea Water Resources Corporation (K-water) and Chuncheon, with completion targeted for 2028. A total of 422.3 billion won will be invested, and the sale of the data-center sites will determine the project’s success or failure.
As an investment promotion district, the Hydrothermal Energy Cluster is required to select tenants by lottery if multiple companies seek to purchase sites. Relevant agencies have set September as the deadline for finalizing the sales method and are engaged in last-minute negotiations. Chuncheon obtained legal advice concluding that a switch to negotiated contracts would be possible, but MOLIT is reportedly opposed on fairness grounds. Under the current rules, the company that purchases a complex into which hundreds of billions of won have been poured just for infrastructure development would effectively be chosen by drawing lots. Seven domestic and international multinational consortia have currently expressed interest in purchasing the sites.
Gangwon State plans to prioritize attracting data centers operated by major Korean companies, taking into account their impact on regional industries and the development of an industrial ecosystem. Woo Sang-ho, governor of Gangwon State, said at a press briefing on the 7th, “Compared with foreign companies that only operate data centers, data centers attracted by major Korean companies will do more to promote coexistence with the local community,” adding, “The resulting effects, including additional investment, cooperation with companies in the province, and jobs for local talent, will be far greater.” Chuncheon Mayor Yuk Dong-han and National Assembly member Heo Young also plan to meet Kim Yun-duk, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport of South Korea, in the near future to convey the need to change the sales method.
A Chuncheon official said, “A lottery may have been appropriate in the past, when unsold industrial-complex sites were a problem, but now that companies are competing to enter the area, a new selection method is needed to attract outstanding companies.”

[email protected] Kim Ki-seop Reporter