Woo Sang-ho, the Democratic Party candidate for Gangwon Province governor, said Wednesday he is in talks with major foreign corporations to build an artificial intelligence (AI) data center in Gangwon Province. In an interview with The Seoul Economic Daily, Woo outlined his plan to attract large-scale data centers by leveraging Gangwon's abundant water resources and electricity, and to draw related high-tech industries around them to overcome the region's population decline crisis.
Various opinion polls show Woo leading incumbent Governor Kim Jin-tae of the People Power Party by a margin outside the error range. However, Woo predicted, "Gangwon is traditionally a conservative stronghold, so the race will tighten as conservative voters rally in the final stretch."
A native of Cheorwon, Gangwon, Woo served four terms as a National Assembly member representing Seodaemun-A in Seoul. He served as the Democratic Party's floor leader and chairman of its emergency steering committee, and was the first senior presidential secretary for political affairs at the presidential office under the Lee Jae-myung administration.
— Polls show you leading incumbent Governor Kim by more than 10 percentage points.
△ Gangwon has traditionally been a conservative stronghold. I expect the race to tighten into a close contest as conservatives rally closer to election day. I estimate there are about 5 to 7 percent "shy conservatives." In reality, I judge that I am leading by around 3 percentage points.
— What is the most urgent issue facing Gangwon Province?
△ Last year alone, 4,400 young people left Gangwon Province. We must create conditions that prevent young people from leaving and allow those in the metropolitan area and other cities to return to Gangwon. It is important to create good jobs and improve living conditions to give confidence that Gangwon is a place worth living in. Social overhead capital (SOC) projects such as railways and roads are necessary, but what Gangwon needs more urgently now is attracting industries.
— You pledged to attract an AI data center. What is the progress?
△ Only large corporations, whether foreign or domestic, can build and operate large-scale AI data centers. This is not like opening a neighborhood supermarket. Because it is a project that costs trillions of won, ordinary companies or investors alone cannot handle it. We are in talks with major foreign corporations to operate data centers using Gangwon's abundant water resources and electricity. These foreign corporations can attract companies conducting global business based in the Gangwon data center. It will serve as core infrastructure for revitalizing related high-tech industries in Gangwon.
— Candidate Kim Jin-tae has pledged to launch and attract a professional baseball team to Chuncheon.
△ He keeps making a flood of showy, unrealizable pledges. Four years ago, he said he would attract the Bank of Korea headquarters. Why would the Bank of Korea headquarters come to Gangwon? For a professional baseball team to come, there must be a major corporation representing Gangwon, and that company must be willing to invest tens of billions of won or more every year. But I do not know which major corporation in Gangwon he is referring to.
— Governor Kim criticizes you as a "Seoul person."
△ That is a childish criticism. This is not an election about who has lived in Gangwon longer. It is not as if we are electing a hometown association chairman. One of the president's key national agendas is balanced regional development. There is a demand for a senior politician of my stature to come to Gangwon, develop Gangwon, and further develop the Republic of Korea. I came here to turn the president's governing philosophy into reality.
