Gangnam-gu, Seoul -- (SBWIRE) -- 07/06/2011 -- South Korean telecom titan KT Corp. and Japan's Softbank Telecom Corp. will set up a joint cloud computing venture in South Korea later this year, the companies said Monday, aiming to tap into demand for reliable Internet storage systems that can protect companies' data from natural disasters.

KT will hold a 51 percent stake and Softbank will own the remainder in the joint venture, which will be set up by September, they said in a joint press release.

The two telecom companies will open a data center in Gimhae City, near South Korea's second-largest city, Busan, located close to Japan, to offer services to Japanese companies seeking a reliable data storage center.

KT, which has been stepping up its businesses outside the telecom service sector, plans to offer cloud computing services for corporate customers and consumers in Japan, which is battling power shortages caused by a March earthquake.

As a result of natural disasters in Japan and the stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant, Japanese companies will have to cut back their electricity use by 15 percent starting in July as part of the country's efforts to curve power demand, which will make it harder for those companies to operate their own data centers.

Through the joint venture in South Korea, Softbank aims to secure a stable data network center to store the companies' data safely during natural disasters and power outages.

"Through the project, we will be able to protect critical corporate systems and data from natural disasters like earthquakes," Masayoshi Son, Softbank's chairman, said in the statement.