Assemblyman Kim Kyung-jin "Welcomes Gwangju's Declaration as an AI Hub City"

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Kim Kyung-jin, member of the National Assembly (Gwangju Metropolitan City Buk-gu (Gap)), announced on the 29th that he welcomes Gwangju's declaration as an artificial intelligence (AI) hub city.

On the same day, Assemblyman Kim attended the ‘AI Hub City Gwangju Vision Declaration Ceremony’ and the ‘AI Industry Convergence Project Group Launch Ceremony’ and pledged to foster the AI industry.

AI Hub City Gwangju is one of the Moon Jae-in administration’s national agenda items.

During the 19th presidential election, Moon Jae-in, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, announced a pledge to develop Gwangju as an ‘AI-based startup complex,’ and later selected ‘establishing an AI-based startup complex’ as a development pledge for Gwangju in the top 100 national agenda items.

In line with this, Assemblyman Kim has been actively working to attract an AI industrial complex to Gwangju.

In 2017, while serving as a member of the National Assembly Budget and Accounts Special Committee, he secured a preliminary planning budget of 1 billion KRW for the ‘AI Industrial Complex Development Project,’ opening the way for the project. To gain an advantageous position over competing regions, he personally hosted and organized various forums, expert meetings, and working-level meetings to prepare for attracting the AI industrial complex to Gwangju.

In particular, as the only Gwangju member of the National Assembly serving on the Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting and Communications Committee, he strongly emphasized to Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Hong Nam-ki, Minister of Science and ICT Yoo Young-min, and officials of the Ministry of Science and ICT that Gwangju must be developed as an AI hub city.

As a result, in January 2019, the ‘AI Hub Industry Convergence Cluster Development Project’ was selected as a government project exempt from preliminary feasibility study, successfully securing the project, and in September last year, an AI graduate school for training AI specialists was established at Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology.

During the review of this year’s government budget proposal, the initially allocated project budget of 42.6 billion KRW was increased by 20 billion KRW in the National Assembly, securing a total of 62.6 billion KRW.

Accordingly, from this year until 2024, a total of 406.1 billion KRW will be invested over five years in the Gwangju Advanced 3 District to create an AI industrial complex specialized in the automobile, energy, and healthcare sectors.

Upon completion, it is expected to generate effects such as 500 startup companies, 2,000 specialists, and 7,000 jobs.

Assemblyman Kim said, “About ten years ago, when we said we would attract the optical industry to Gwangju, many doubted it, but as we actively engaged and attracted the optical industry, we created the image of ‘Gwangju as the optical industry city.’ AI will be the same,” adding, “If Gwangju is developed as an AI hub city, the industrial and economic map of the underdeveloped Honam region will be completely transformed, and new economic growth engines will be created nationally through regional balanced development and quality job creation.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.