Jeonnam-Gwangju to Drive AX in Shipbuilding and Boost Competitiveness by Building an AI-Operated Autonomous Shipyard

【Financial News | Jeonnam-Gwangju = Reporter Hwang Tae-jong】Jeonnam-Gwangju will accelerate the artificial intelligence transformation (AX) of its shipbuilding industry and strengthen the competitiveness of the local industry by building an autonomous shipyard operated with artificial intelligence (AI).
 According to Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City (Gwangju Special City) on the 12th, an “AI Autonomous Shipyard Investment and Business Agreement” was signed that day at Hotel Hyundai by Lahan in Yeongam, with Gwangju Special City Mayor Min Hyung-bae and Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Kim Jeong-gwan among those attending, along with officials from Yeongam County, HD Hyundai Samho, Daea Industry, the Daebul Management Association and the Jeonnam Shipbuilding and Marine Equipment Cooperative.
 Under the agreement, HD Hyundai Samho and Daea Industry will invest a total of 400 billion won by 2031 to build a leading (lighthouse) factory for an AI-operated autonomous shipyard, applying AI technology on the shipbuilding floor, and transfer the core AX technologies secured through it to local shipbuilding companies.
 The Daebul Management Association and the Jeonnam Shipbuilding and Marine Equipment Cooperative will also work with their member companies to actively adopt related technologies and make new investments, spreading the results of AX throughout the regional shipbuilding industry ecosystem.
 Gwangju Special City Mayor Min Hyung-bae said, “I expect HD Hyundai Samho’s large-scale investment to provide an opportunity to extend AX in the shipbuilding industry throughout the entire regional industrial ecosystem.” He emphasized, “We will add AI, a powerful competitive edge, to the shipbuilding foundation that Gwangju Special City possesses and make the southwestern region a future industrial hub where shipbuilding and equipment companies can grow together.”
 Earlier, to advance AX in the shipbuilding industry, Gwangju Special City and Yeongam County secured the “Daebul Industrial Complex AX Demonstration Collaboration Platform Establishment Project” last year, followed this year by the “Shipbuilding Industry AX Demonstration Infrastructure Establishment Project,” laying the groundwork for supporting AX in the sector.
 Gwangju Special City is also pursuing a planning project to extend the AX achievements of the AI autonomous shipyard lighthouse factory across the entire regional shipbuilding industry.
 As the global market rapidly shifts toward next-generation ship technologies—including not only AX but also eco-friendly technologies and autonomous navigation—Gwangju Special City plans, in line with the government’s “K-Shipbuilding Future Vision,” to lay the groundwork for developing and demonstrating eco-friendly fuel propulsion systems, LNG cargo containment systems and maritime autonomous ships.
 Meanwhile, the “Investment and Business Agreement Signing Ceremony” held that day took place alongside the “AI Shipyard M.AX Alliance Strategy Meeting,” co-hosted by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. “M.AX” stands for Manufacturing AI Transformation, and the “M.AX Alliance” was launched last September under the leadership of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, with the goal of making the country a global leader in manufacturing AX by 2030. The “AI Shipyard M.AX Alliance,” one of the alliance’s 10 divisions, brings together around 100 companies and institutions to promote AX across the shipbuilding industry.
 At the “Strategy Meeting” that day, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy’s Director-General for Manufacturing Industry Policy presented the “AI Shipbuilding Alliance: Operational Direction and Flagship Project,” while the “Basic Plan for Autonomous Ships,” jointly drawn up by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, was also presented. Attendees discussed ways to work together to promote AX across the shipbuilding industry.

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