Gyeongsangbuk-do Province Steps Up Efforts to Build a Sustainable Regional AI Ecosystem

[Financial News, Andong—Reporter Kim Jang-wook] Gyeongsangbuk-do Province is stepping up efforts to build a sustainable regional artificial intelligence (AI) ecosystem.
The province views AI not as a technology limited to specific industries, but as a core foundation capable of transforming residents' lives and everyday activities. It is now pursuing the "Gyeongsangbuk-do-style AI transformation" in earnest by combining advanced technologies, including AI and robotics, with the province's industrial, agricultural, content and educational capabilities.
The plan is to connect AI with the region's strengths, including the manufacturing bases of Gumi and Pohang, agriculture and cultural content. Through this approach, the province aims to address pressing local challenges and create new growth drivers—from changes residents can feel in their daily lives and higher industrial productivity to easing labor shortages in rural areas and nurturing future talent.
Lee Cheol-woo, governor of Gyeongsangbuk-do Province, said at the meeting, "AI is no longer a technology needed only by a limited number of experts or specific industries. It is becoming a core foundation that is transforming residents' daily lives and local industrial sites. We will create tangible change by connecting AI with the region's strengths, including manufacturing, agriculture and content, starting with areas such as transportation and public safety that residents can experience directly in their daily lives."
He added, "We will rapidly pursue the 'Gyeongsangbuk-do-style AI transformation' so that residents can enjoy more convenient and safer lives, businesses can strengthen their competitiveness, farmers can reduce their burdens, and future talent can pursue their dreams in the region."
Transportation and safety are the areas where AI comes closest to residents' daily lives. During periods of concentrated vehicle travel, such as the Chuseok holiday, quickly assessing traffic flows and detecting road hazards is directly linked to residents' safety.
From 2026 to 2027, the province is investing a total of KRW 10.6 billion to carry out the "On-Device AI Service Demonstration and Expansion Project" across Gumi.
The province is also establishing an AX Demonstration Industrial Complex in the Gumi and Pohang National Industrial Complexes as a key hub for the AI transformation (AX) of manufacturing. From 2026 to 2029, it will invest a total of KRW 48.1 billion in developing AX infrastructure, supporting corporate AX demonstrations, creating an AX master plan for the industrial complexes and building an AX alliance.
Since 2024, the province has also been pursuing the "AI Factory" project in earnest with the Ministry of Trade and Industry to apply AI to manufacturing.
Starting with electronics and semiconductors in Gumi and steel in Pohang, the province plans to expand AX models to its major industries, including automobiles, machinery and root industries. Its goal is to develop Gyeongsangbuk-do into South Korea's leading demonstration hub for manufacturing AX.

[email protected] Kim Jang-wook Reporter