Gwangyang City Declares Leap Beyond Steel to Become a Global Hub for Advanced Future Industries

Vision for Transition to AI, Robotics, Semiconductors, and Secondary Batteries

"Jeonnam Eastern Region Industrial Transformation Innovation Forum" Held

Gwangyang City, a leading industrial city in South Korea, has presented a vision for transitioning its steel-centered industrial structure to one focused on advanced future industries such as artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, semiconductors, and secondary batteries.

Gwangyang City announced that on the 11th, it held the "Jeonnam Eastern Region Industrial Transformation Innovation Forum" at the City Hall Citizen Hall, attended by more than 100 participants including the Gwangyang City 4th Industrial Revolution Committee, the Gwangyang City Future Strategy Task Force team, experts from academia and industry, and citizens.

On the 11th, Gwangyang City held the "Jeonnam Eastern Region Industrial Great Transformation Innovation Forum" at the City Hall Citizen Hall, attended by the Gwangyang City 4th Industrial Revolution Committee, Gwangyang City Future Strategy Task Force Team, academics, industry experts, and citizens. Provided by Gwangyang City

Held under the sub-theme "The Center of Integration, the Future of Gwangyang," the forum was organized to discuss strategies for fostering advanced future industries and developing regional industry in light of the upcoming launch of the "Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City" in July, moving beyond a steel-centered industrial structure.

Gwangyang City believes that the eastern region of Jeollanam-do, where steel and petrochemical industries and port logistics infrastructure are concentrated, will play a key role in the industrial economy of the integrated special city. The city plans to actively respond in the process of enacting subordinate regulations and formulating policies to ensure that the industrial characteristics of the eastern region are fully reflected.

The forum began with the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for cooperation in the AI industry between Gwangyang City and the Korea Generative AI Foundation (KGAF). Under the agreement, Gwangyang City will promote administrative support and the creation of an industrial foundation, while KGAF will use its professional workforce and networks to help local companies adopt AI technology and build an industrial ecosystem.

The forum also featured expert presentations on the transition to future industries.

Professor Song Saekyung of KAIST introduced the "Physical AI" strategy, which integrates AI and robotics in manufacturing sites, and explained that Gwangyang's industrial complex, with its concentration of large-scale manufacturing facilities, is well-suited for applying AI-based automation technology. He also emphasized that using task-based robots and AI technology can reduce industrial accidents and improve the efficiency of production processes.

Jeon Heeseok, Director of the Compound Semiconductor Center at Gachon University, presented the potential for fostering the semiconductor industry and strategies for regional specialization based on the industrial infrastructure and location of the eastern region of Jeollanam-do. Amid the government's direction to expand local investment in the semiconductor industry and build new semiconductor clusters outside the capital area, he highlighted that the eastern region could play a vital role within the southern innovation belt linking Gwangju, Busan, and Gumi.

He particularly analyzed that Gwangyang has strengths in power supply, materials, demand, and logistics, and that there is significant potential to link these with existing manufacturing bases such as steel, petrochemicals, and machinery. The city's industrial infrastructure was also noted as a competitive advantage in the field of chemicals and specialty gases, which are essential to semiconductor processing.

To attract the semiconductor industry, Gwangyang City unveiled a vision to utilize the expanded site of the National Industrial Complex for Future Advanced Materials to accommodate both secondary batteries and semiconductors. The city also emphasized the need to establish an "energy highway" to quickly supply renewable energy from the southwest coast in response to massive power demands and to expand related departments and research infrastructure at universities to foster semiconductor talent.

Professor Jung Kiyeong of Suncheon National University stressed the necessity of establishing a full-cycle circulation network connecting production and recycling for the sustainable growth of the secondary battery industry.

He explained that recycling technologies that extract key minerals such as lithium and nickel from spent batteries will play a critical role in securing future industrial competitiveness.

As a strategy for developing a specialized secondary battery cluster in the Gwangyang Bay Area, he proposed building the Gwangyang Small Synchrotron Accelerator (GSA) and introducing autonomous laboratories utilizing AI and robotics technologies.

Lee Jeonggwan, Director at Jeonnam Technopark, presented a model for ultra-wide-area industrial cooperation centered on Gwangyang, Suncheon, and Yeosu, emphasizing that the establishment of key infrastructure such as power, semiconductors, and data centers is essential for the transition to an AI industry.

He also stated that, based on approximately 20 trillion won in government fiscal support expected through the integration of Jeonnam and Gwangju, it is necessary to establish a foundation for regional industrial innovation. He added that to address population decline and youth outflow, it is important to promote the transition to hydrogen reduction steelmaking, expand digital infrastructure such as data centers, and create a new industrial belt focused on future industries.

Gwangyang City stated that through this forum, it presented AI-based industrial transformation strategies to enhance the competitiveness of the eastern region's core manufacturing industries such as steel and petrochemicals, as well as strategies for fostering future industries including secondary batteries, semiconductors, and robotics.

An official from Gwangyang City stated, "The current industrial transformation is a massive trend where energy, AI, and digital transformation are happening together," adding, "To proactively respond to these changes, Gwangyang City will form a task force for industrial transformation and work with citizens to concretize implementation strategies."

The official continued, "Advanced industries such as AI and robotics, semiconductors, secondary batteries, and hydrogen will become major pillars for the future of Gwangyang," and "We will do our best to enable Gwangyang to leap forward as the central city of industrial transformation in the eastern region of Jeollanam-do by adding a new industrial ecosystem on top of the existing industrial base."

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