Chungcheong Region Takes Initiative to Build 'Artificial Intelligence and Metaverse' Convergence Ecosystem

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] Four metropolitan local governments in the Chungcheong region have unveiled a blueprint to establish an artificial intelligence (AI) and Metaverse ecosystem to secure future new growth engines for the Chungcheong area.

On the 9th, Daejeon City announced that it will collaborate with Sejong City, Chungnam Province, and Chungbuk Province to discover new businesses that combine AI and the Metaverse.

The Metaverse refers to a "Meta" (transcendent) "Universe" that combines reality and virtuality, a virtual convergence space based on information and communication technology (IT) that enables leisure activities and economic activities.

Earlier, on the 14th of last month, the government announced a plan in the Korean New Deal 2.0 to focus on discovering hyper-connected new industry sectors in response to accelerating digital convergence in industries.

In line with this, the four local governments in the Chungcheong region agreed to cooperate in building an ecosystem that can be expanded nationwide after researching and developing core AI and Metaverse technologies centered on the Daejeon Daedeok Special Zone and going through a demonstration phase.

By utilizing AI solutions and the Metaverse environment possessed by the Chungcheong region, they plan to support key industries in each area such as bio, automotive, digital healthcare, and semiconductors, and apply AI and Metaverse concepts to fields such as social welfare, transportation, safety, and environment within the Chungcheong area to lead related industries.

In particular, the four local governments in the Chungcheong region will form a consultative body with research institutions in the Daedeok Special Zone such as the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI), and Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information (KISTI) to create an AI and Metaverse ecosystem that leverages regional characteristics and strengths.

The consultative body will include experts in AI, virtual reality, augmented reality, blockchain, Internet of Things, digital twin, supercomputing, data, and content affiliated with these research institutions.

Furthermore, the Chungcheong region plans to expand cooperative relationships with research institutes such as the Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Korea Institute of Energy Research, Korea Aerospace Research Institute, and domestic and international IT companies to form a task force for establishing an AI-Metaverse convergence ecosystem.

Cho Min-su, Deputy Director of the Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information, said, “The socio-economic transition to the Metaverse combined with AI will be a timely demand in the post-COVID-19 pandemic era,” adding, “We will ensure that the AI technologies and Metaverse infrastructure capabilities possessed by universities and government-funded research institutes located in the Daedeok Special Zone fuse with the urban capabilities of the Chungcheong region to create synergy.”

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