KT and Jeju Province will establish a cloud data center (CDC) in the province. The private cloud utilization project will include Jeju Province's information system conversion to the cloud as well as the development of an information and communication technology (ICT) ecosystem.
KT Cloud and Jeju Province announced on the 7th that they will participate in the '2022 Ministry of the Interior and Safety Cloud Computing Service Utilization Model Local Government Pilot Project' and prosecute a phased cloud conversion. The cloud computing service utilization model is a method in which the private sector provides public cloud infrastructure in return for a usage fee. The two organizations signed an agreement on △ cooperation in establishing a CDC in the province after the phased transition of the pilot project △ project execution (design, conversion, operation, etc.) and contract implementation △ cloud service provision, operation, and technical support △ local government cooperation measures and business plan support.
The data processing resources of each administrative agency in Jeju Province are expected to be converted to KT cloud infrastructure as part of this year's pilot project, with the process of transferring them to CDC to be created in the future to follow. Through the utilization of cloud digital services, Jeju Province plans to advance as a digital platform administrative city while promoting the advancement of outdated information systems and integration of weak data processing rooms.
Jeju Province expressed the will to promote regional development by developing a private cooperative CDC as well as establishing the Jeju ICT ecosystem through artificial intelligence (AI) computing, big data platform, and disaster recovery (DR) center. An official from the Jeju Provincial Office said, "The pilot project is expected to contribute not only to cost reduction through cloud service but also to revitalize the local economy through job creation." Joo-seong Kim, managing director of KT Cloud, stated, “As a cloud service provider (CSP) in the public sector, we will do our best for a stable cloud transition with Jeju Island. We will create a collaborative ecosystem for win-win development between local information technology (IT) companies and CSPs.
The cloud computing service utilization model is one of the tracks of the public cloud transformation project. The Ministry of the Interior and Safety will support about KRW 70 billion for this year's project which will support the cloud conversion cost and initial usage fee. Five metropolitan councils, including Jeollanam-do (including Gwangju City), Jeonbuk-do, Gyeongnam-do, Jeju-do, and Sejong-si, will submit their business plans, and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety will review them and select support organizations shortly. As the aim is to spread the private cloud by supporting as many institutions as possible, it is highly likely that all five local governments will be selected.
Jeollanam-do and Gyeongnam-do are cooperating with NHN. Jeonbuk-do Province is discussing cooperation with Samsung SDS and Sejong City with Naver Cloud, respectively. As the official business procedure is for the Ministry of the Interior and Safety to select the supporting local government and then the local government to select the CSP, the final selection of the CSP by each local government is expected to be at the end of this month.
By Staff Reporter Ho-cheon An hcan@etnews.com