Gyeonggi Province to Concentrate 100 Billion Won Investment in AI Clusters, AI Data Centers, and AI-Driven Administrative Innovation

[Suwon Ilbo = Reporter Kim Gap-dong] Gyeonggi Province announced on the 9th that it has secured a budget of 100 billion won for AI projects and will concentrate investment in the AI sector to expand existing AI initiatives and begin full-scale implementation of new projects this year.

This decision reflects the province's commitment to swift execution of AI projects, building on foundational preparations including: the establishment of an AI Bureau in July (the first among local governments), the enactment of an Artificial Intelligence Basic Ordinance (July 18), the proclamation of an AI Humanomics Vision at the Gyeonggi Global Paradigm Shift Forum (October 24), and the hosting of the Korea International AI Film Festival (October 25).

To respond to the global AI competition for technological dominance, Gyeonggi Province will establish AI clusters at six major industrial hubs within the province and promote AI transformation through AI industry infrastructure development, startup cultivation and professional workforce training, and AI conversion support for existing industries. To secure the hyperscale AI computing centers essential for building artificial intelligence industry foundations, the province will pursue securing power and water resources, implementing systemic improvements, and attracting tens of trillions of won in global investment, with plans to develop two or more global AI clusters.

Additionally, to intensively nurture AI startups and AI professionals, Gyeonggi Province will establish six Gyeonggi AI Clusters centered on Pangyo and at four other industrial hubs across the province. Based on this foundation, AI startups will be provided with specialized hybrid office environments, GPU and NPU support for research and development, AI demonstration support for global market expansion, and global collaboration environments.

Since AI's added value increases dramatically when applied and utilized in specific industries compared to AI technology itself, Gyeonggi Province will implement a Manufacturing AI Transformation (AIX) Project to support AI conversion of global manufacturing powerhouses based in the province and strengthen the competitiveness of South Korea's manufacturing and artificial intelligence industries.

AI professional talent training necessary for this will be conducted through partnerships with global big tech companies including NVIDIA, Microsoft, Amazon, IBM, and CISCO, as well as artificial intelligence universities within the province. The province plans to cultivate 550 AI experts with global competitiveness and establish AI Campuses in northern and southern Gyeonggi to provide artificial intelligence literacy education to 37,000 residents, enabling them to naturally utilize artificial intelligence in their daily lives.

Additionally, in cooperation with universities in the province participating in the Regional Innovation Platform (RISE), Gyeonggi Province will intensively train 6,000 leading talents annually in the province's seven major future growth industries (G7) including semiconductors, AI big data, advanced mobility, biotechnology, renewable energy, quantum technology, and digital transformation, as well as 5,000 local industry practical experts, for a total of 55,000 people over five years.

For AI services for residents, the province will prioritize welfare, public, and medical sectors where AI application is expected to have significant impact. The province will supplement and expand services utilizing AI technology such as AI-based prevention and response to death from isolation, AI care for developmentally disabled individuals, and operation of Gyeonggi Smart-D this year to expand AI application in resident welfare. Additionally, the province will newly implement AI public medical demonstration projects for quality improvement in public medical services and construction of medical imaging databases, promoting social value creation through AI technology application.

The province will actively introduce AI to improve residents' convenience and safety. It will strengthen the residents' safety net through expanded installation and conversion of intelligent CCTV systems, construction of smart selective surveillance systems, and installation of smart safety facilities.

For administrative innovation, AI will be actively utilized across all administrative sectors. The province will establish a foundation for AI-driven administrative innovation through the 'Administrative Innovation AI Platform Project' which introduces Gyeonggi-style LLM (large-scale generative AI language models). Following examples such as the province's achievement of 86% efficiency improvement in broad-area bus congestion analysis through AI-based task automation last year, Gyeonggi Province will continue to identify and apply areas expected to yield significant results. Through operation of the Gyeonggi AI Administrative Innovation Task Force, the province aims to become Gyeonggi Province that utilizes AI most effectively. The Gyeonggi-style AI LLM will be designed with a plug-in structure, enabling flexible application of new cost-effective generative AI LLMs as they continuously emerge in the future.

The province is currently pushing forward with the construction of an integrated AI data center with the goal of opening in the second half of this year. This will create an opportunity to transition obsolete IT systems to cloud computing systems and introduce AI high-performance computing environments, thereby establishing a support foundation for AI-driven administrative innovation.

To this end, the province will secure a budget of 100 billion won this year and implement new projects according to schedule without delay, supporting the emergence of excellent AI administrative innovation cases and competitive AI companies within the province.

Kim Ki-byeong, Director of Gyeonggi Province's AI Bureau, stated, "One of the most necessary elements to respond to fierce global AI competition is the speed of innovation. Gyeonggi Province has already secured related budgets and made advance preparations for 2025 for AI-driven administrative innovation and business support through AI clusters," and added, "Through swift implementation, the province will play a role as a catalyst for the AI ecosystem so that excellent AI administrative innovation cases and competitive AI companies can emerge."