Equinix plans to build its first South Korean data center in the nation's capital, Seoul.

Set to open in the third quarter of this year, the SL1 IBX facility will eventually provide more than 18,000 square feet (1,680 sq m) of colocation space, with capacity of 550 cabinets in the first phase.

Seoul, South Korea
– Thinkstock / 153photostudio

Seoul site

The opening of the data center comes as South Korea prepares to launch 5G service across the country in March.

“Seoul, the fourth-largest metropolitan economy globally, is an important connection point for both regional and global businesses, and we are excited to expand our global platform to this new metro in South Korea," Samuel Lee, president of Equinix in Asia Pacific, said.

The global colocation giant revealed that it had invested more than $800 million on expanding its presence in the Asia Pacific region over the past three years - just last week, announcing another data center in Singapore.

The company currently operates 40 data centers across 12 Asia Pacific markets, out of a total of 200 Equinix data centers around the world.

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