Gyeonggi Province to Concentrate 100 Billion Won Investment in AI Clusters, AI Data Centers, and AI Innovative Administration

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Kim Gapdong] Gyeonggi Province announced on the 9th that it has secured an AI budget of 100 billion won to expand AI projects this year and push forward with new projects in earnest, committing to concentrated investment in the AI sector.

This commitment stems from the province's intention to accelerate implementation of AI projects, building on the solid groundwork laid last year, including the establishment of an AI Department, the first among local governments (7.18), enactment of basic AI ordinances (7.18), the declaration of the AI Humanomics vision at the Gyeonggi Global Transformation Forum (10.24), and hosting the Korea International AI Film Festival (KAIFF) (10.25).

To respond to the global AI competition for hegemony, the province will establish AI clusters at six major industrial hubs within the province and pursue an AI Great Transformation through AI industry infrastructure development, startup nurturing and specialized workforce training, and AI conversion support for existing industries. To secure the hyperscale AI computing centers essential for establishing an artificial intelligence industry foundation, the province will pursue securing electricity and water supply and institutional improvements for attracting such facilities, and will develop two or more global AI clusters through initiatives attracting tens of trillions of won in global investment.

To intensively nurture AI startups and AI specialists, the province will establish Gyeonggi AI Clusters at four industrial hubs within the province, centered on Pangyo. Based on this, the province will provide AI startups with specialized hybrid office environments, GPU and NPU support for research and development, AI demonstration support for global market exploration, and a global collaboration environment.

Since the added value of AI grows rapidly when AI technology itself is applied and utilized in specific industries compared to its intrinsic value, the province will support AI conversion of global manufacturing powerhouses located in the province and pursue a Manufacturing AIX (AI Transformation) Great Transformation Project to strengthen the competitiveness of Korean manufacturing and the artificial intelligence industry.

The necessary AI specialist workforce training will be promoted through cooperation with global tech companies including NVIDIA, Microsoft, Amazon, IBM, and CISCO, as well as AI universities within the province. The province plans to nurture 550 AI experts with global competitiveness, establish AI Campuses in the northern and southern regions of Gyeonggi, and provide AI literacy education to 37,000 residents so that citizens can naturally utilize artificial intelligence.

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

For AI services for residents, the province will prioritize the welfare, public, and medical sectors, where AI application is expected to have significant effects. The province will supplement and expand services utilizing AI technology such as AI-based prevention and response to deaths from isolation, AI care for people with developmental disabilities, and operation of Gyeonggi Smart D, thereby expanding AI application to residents' welfare. The province will also newly pursue AI public medical demonstration projects for quality improvement and construction of medical imaging databases in public medical services, thereby creating social value through AI technology application.

The province will actively introduce AI for residents' convenience and safety improvements. The province will strengthen the residents' living safety network by expanding installation of intelligent CCTV systems and pursuing conversion of existing CCTV to intelligent systems, building smart screening and surveillance systems, and installing smart safety facilities.

For innovative administration, the province will actively utilize AI across all administrative sectors. Through the "Innovative Administration AI Platform Project," which introduces Gyeonggi-type LLM (generative AI large language model), the province will lay the foundation for AI innovative administration. Following the example last year where the province improved efficiency by 86% in analyzing congestion rates by metro bus route through AI workflow automation, the province will continue to discover and apply fields expected to achieve major results and aim to become Gyeonggi Province, which best utilizes AI, through the operation of the Gyeonggi AI Innovative Administration Promotion Team. The Gyeonggi-type AI LLM will be designed with a plug-in structure so that new cost-effective generative AI LLMs can be flexibly applied as they continue to emerge.

The province is pursuing the construction of an AI Integrated Data Center with a target opening in the second half of this year. Through this initiative, the province will also establish a support foundation for implementing AI innovative administration by converting outdated IT systems to cloud computing systems and introducing AI high-performance computing environments.

To this end, the province will secure 100 billion won in budget this year and implement new projects without delay according to schedule, supporting the continued development of excellent AI innovative administration cases and competitive AI companies in the province.

Kim Ki-byeong, Director of the Gyeonggi AI Department, stated, "One of the most necessary elements to respond to intense global AI competition is the speed of innovation. Gyeonggi Province has already secured relevant budgets and completed advance preparations in 2025 for AI innovative administration and corporate support through AI clusters." He added, "Through rapid implementation of these initiatives, Gyeonggi Province will serve as a catalyst for the AI ecosystem, enabling excellent AI innovative administration cases and competitive AI companies to emerge."