Changwon Mayoral Candidate Kim Kiwoon: "AI Innovation to Achieve Korea's Highest Manufacturing Salaries"

by Lee Seryeong

Published 12 Mar.2026 18:24(KST)

Kim Kiwoon, the Democratic Party of Korea candidate for Changwon Special City Mayor in Gyeongnam, has unveiled his policy vision to transform Changwon into a global hub for manufacturing artificial intelligence (AI).

On March 12, at a press conference held in the city hall press center, candidate Kim stated, "I will completely redraw Changwon's industrial map," and presented five major policies to establish "Changwon as a Global Manufacturing AI Mecca."

He first emphasized his plan to transform the Changwon National Industrial Complex into a "physical AI industry hub."

To achieve this, he pledged to establish an AI Manufacturing Innovation Center and to build a joint research and validation infrastructure where small and medium-sized enterprises can test AI equipment and software.

Kim Kiun, the preliminary candidate for the Democratic Party of Korea for the Changwon Special City Mayor in Gyeongnam, is announcing his policy pledges. Photo by Se Ryeong Lee

He also added that the number of AI smart factories would be gradually increased each year to reach 100, and more than half of Changwon's manufacturing processes would be converted into intelligent factories by 2035.

Candidate Kim also pledged to build a "Changwon-style digital twin platform."

He explained that the city would support a virtual manufacturing simulation platform so that small and medium-sized enterprises can utilize digital twin technology to operate factories first in a virtual environment, and would collect industrial data to create a "Changwon Manufacturing Data Bank."

In addition, he announced plans to create a 1 trillion won Changwon Industry Innovation Fund, to nurture 50,000 convergent talents with expertise in both AI and mechanical engineering in cooperation with local universities, to create 30,000 youth AI jobs, to support 10,000 Changwon-style AI internships, and to foster 1,000 youth technology startups.

He also promised to implement a "salary increase project" aimed at achieving manufacturing AI innovation, boosting productivity by more than 30 percent, and raising the average annual salary of Changwon workers by over 10 million won by 2035.

Candidate Kim stated, "The goal of industrial policy is to enrich the lives of the citizens," and added, "I will make Changwon the city with the highest manufacturing salaries in Korea."

He continued, "With AI as high-octane fuel, I will restart Changwon's stalled growth engine," and declared his ambition that "by 2035, people from around the world will come to see Changwon's smart factories."