The South Korean presidential office announced on Wednesday (October 29) that Amazon Web Services (AWS) plans to invest at least $5 billion in South Korea by 2031 to build new artificial intelligence data centers, leveraging Seoul's ambition to become Asia's AI hub.

AWS CEO Matt Garman announced the news during a meeting with South Korean President Lee Jae-myung on the sidelines of the APEC summit.

The presidential office stated that Amazon was one of seven multinational companies that participated in a group meeting held by Lee Jae-myung in Gyeongju, South Korea, pledging a total investment of $9 billion over the next five years.

In his meeting with Garman, Lee Jae-myung stated that Amazon's investment will accelerate the development of South Korea's AI industry ecosystem, and that South Korea aims to become one of the world's top three AI powers.

Garman stated, "At AWS, we have invested and committed $40 billion from now until 2028 in 14 APEC countries and economies outside the United States."

He added at a business event on the sidelines of the summit, "This $40 billion actually translates into an additional $45 billion in revenue for U.S. GDP and downstream, benefiting the entire APEC economy."

AWS plans to build a new data center in the suburbs of Seoul.