Busan Announces Comprehensive Strategy to Become a Global AI Hub City... 487.7 Billion KRW to Be Invested Over 5 Years

Four Major AI Flagship Projects
Five Key Infrastructure Development Initiatives
Park Hyungjoon: "Embedding AI in Every Aspect of Citizens' Lives"

The comprehensive strategy of Busan City to realize a global artificial intelligence (AI) hub city has been unveiled.

Busan City (Mayor Park Hyungjoon) announced that at 2:30 p.m. on the 13th, the 21st Busan Future Innovation Conference will be held at the Eco Delta City Smart City Lab in Myeongji-dong, Gangseo-gu, presided over by Mayor Park Hyungjoon, to present the 'Busan AI Comprehensive Strategy.'

Approximately 20 participants, including Mayor Park Hyungjoon, business representatives, university officials, media, youth, and related organizations, are expected to attend the event.

At the meeting, specific directions for supporting the development of the AI industry will be discussed through a market-driven strategy utilizing smart city, AI data centers, and AI front-line industries.

The meeting will begin with a keynote speech by Chief IT Officer Lee Sangyong titled "AI That Shakes Reality, New Changes Led by Busan." Park Sejin, CEO of Gambalabs, and Lee Youngjin, CEO of Roboone, will each present case studies on ultra-lightweight on-device AI and the growth potential of the AI robotics industry. Following this, Busan City will announce the 'Busan AI Comprehensive Strategy' as a policy presentation, and Mayor Park Hyungjoon will lead a discussion gathering opinions from representatives of various sectors.

To strengthen the future competitiveness of Busan as a global AI hub city, Busan City will invest 487.7 billion KRW over five years to promote four major AI flagship projects and five detailed AI infrastructure development tasks.

In addition, the city plans to attract 758.7 billion KRW in private investment to implement the mid- and short-term AI comprehensive strategy annually.

The four major AI flagship projects are: first, Busan that creates AI (industrial sector); second, Busan that is livable through AI (citizen sector); third, Busan that utilizes AI (administrative sector); and fourth, Busan that prepares for AI (talent sector).

In the industrial sector, to foster the AI industry by creating a large-scale AI market, the city will focus on supporting AI transformation (AX) in three strategic industries (manufacturing, logistics, healthcare), nurture global AI companies in connection with the southeastern region centered on Busan's R&D functions, and support new fields such as on-device AI.

In the citizen sector, a 'Busan Citizen Platform' will be established, enabling citizens to access all administrative services and AI-based Busan information through a single app. The city will also continuously discover and provide services for a "healthy, safe, and enjoyable Busan" in connection with various government-funded projects.

In the administrative sector, AI idea contests, education, and competitions will be held to enhance public officials' AI literacy, and scientific and efficient administrative culture will be established through AI agents and data-driven policy decisions.

In the talent sector, elite AI talent will be nurtured, AI will be embedded and routinely utilized in industries and workplaces, and the expansion of accessibility for digitally marginalized groups will strengthen AI capabilities and create new industry jobs.

To establish the five major AI infrastructures, the city will promote the creation of a shared AI equipment center, AI smart city, southeastern region AI hub, Busan-style AI-MOOC (Massive Open Online Course), and AI-quantum cooperation infrastructure.

At the shared AI equipment center, industry, academia, research, and government will share various equipment necessary for AI development, such as deep learning servers (GPU), development boards, and AI devices (cameras, robots).

In the AI smart city sector, Busan Eco Delta City (EDC), a national pilot city, will be developed as a world-class AI-based smart city model. The entire smart city national pilot city will be opened as an R&D testbed, and a citizen-led smart city living lab will be introduced, allowing citizens to directly identify and solve urban problems.

At the southeastern region AI hub, AI infrastructure will be concentrated to foster supply companies, support demand companies' AI transformation (AX) through AI transformation (AX) expansion bases, and promote business expansion through connections with the southeastern region and globally.

In the Busan-style AI-MOOC sector, an online AI education platform (ON-BDIA) will be promoted in stages to make AI a part of daily life for citizens and companies.

In the AI-quantum cooperation infrastructure sector, a quantum research and industry hub will be established, and exchanges will be expanded around it to attract outstanding researchers and foster related industries.

Mayor Park Hyungjoon of Busan said, "The AI era is not simply about technological advancement, but a great opportunity to improve citizens' quality of life and enable our society to grow sustainably. Busan has a strong industrial base and talent pool, including 22 universities, data centers, and R&D institutes, and the presence of the national smart city pilot and various demand companies in manufacturing and logistics means the AI market is very broad, which is a huge advantage."

Mayor Park added, "Based on the comprehensive strategy announced today, we will establish the future of Busan and the entire lives of its citizens on an AI foundation, spanning industry, economy, culture, administration, and education. We will do our utmost to ensure that this comprehensive strategy becomes both the grand vision and a feasible roadmap for Busan as a global AI hub city."

Busan City Hall.

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