Physical AI Demonstration Complex to Be Built in Jeonbuk with 736.8 Billion Won Investment

【Financial News Jeonju=Kang In】Jeonbuk State has been finally selected for the 2026 project to create an R&D ecosystem for software platforms based on collaborative intelligence and Physical AI, promoted by the Ministry of Science and ICT and the National IT Industry Promotion Agency (NIPA).
A launch briefing for the project was held on the 16th at The Ambassador Seoul – A Pullman Hotel in Seoul.
About 200 people attended, including Ko Jeong-sam, deputy governor for economic affairs of Jeonbuk State; National Assembly member Chung Dong-young; Lee Do-gyu, head of the ICT Policy Bureau at the Ministry of Science and ICT; Choi Manlim, deputy governor for economic affairs of South Gyeongsang Province; and representatives of research and development institutions.
With its selection for the project, Jeonbuk has entered the stage of pursuing a full-scale Physical AI R&D initiative. The province will establish the country’s first Physical AI demonstration complex linking research and development, industrial-site demonstrations, and commercialization in one region.
The large-scale project will invest 736.8 billion won over five years, from this year through 2030. It will pursue 12 tasks across six areas, ranging from the development of core Physical AI technologies to the creation of open research infrastructure for technology demonstrations.
Jeonbuk participated in the competition through a consortium centered on Jeonbuk National University (JBNU) and CAMTIC Advanced Technology Institute. JBNU will serve as the lead institution for the projects on an integrated research and demonstration system based on a factory operating system specialized in Physical AI manufacturing and logistics, and on the creation of an open research cluster. CAMTIC Advanced Technology Institute will lead the project to establish core research infrastructure and expand core Physical AI technologies.
Through the project, Jeonbuk will develop a software platform that enables heterogeneous robots to make decisions and collaborate with one another. It will also build key infrastructure in Iseo-myeon, Wanju County, including a joint R&D center, an NPU technology demonstration station, and a demonstration meta-factory.
Ko Jeong-sam, deputy governor for economic affairs of Jeonbuk State, said, "This project selection is an important turning point that will help Jeonbuk emerge as a national hub for the Physical AI industry. We will closely integrate Physical AI technologies with the region’s key industries, lead innovation at manufacturing sites, and focus our capabilities on securing technological competitiveness to lead the global market."
Meanwhile, South Gyeongsang Province was also selected for the Human-AI Collaborative LAM Development and Global Demonstration Project. Jeonbuk and South Gyeongsang Province will take charge of different technologies—collaborative intelligence and ultra-precise control, respectively—and establish themselves as the country’s two major hubs for driving the AI transformation.
 

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