Gyeongsang Province, the heartland of South Korea's manufacturing sector, plans to invest a total of 3 trillion won ($2.2 billion) by 2030 to transform the region into a global physical artificial intelligence (AI) innovation hub. The goal is to build a "self-sustaining AI industrial ecosystem" integrating technology, infrastructure and talent.
The provincial government unveiled the blueprint at an AI industry advisory meeting held at the provincial government building on Wednesday. Governor Park Wan-su said, "To ensure the sustainable growth of our key manufacturing industries — including nuclear power, defense and shipbuilding, which are currently booming — we will pursue an industrial strategy centered on AI and small modular reactors (SMRs)."
"Gyeongnam is a region with a dense concentration of manufacturing in machinery, parts and materials, making it ideally positioned to secure competitiveness in physical AI — the convergence of AI with manufacturing," Park added. "We will build an industrial ecosystem where companies and talent grow together, with physical AI technology development at its core."
The meeting featured presentations on plans to foster AI industries in Gyeongsang Province and strategies for nurturing key promising AI sectors. A keynote presentation titled "The Future of Manufacturing Opened by Physical AI: Gyeongnam's Challenge" outlined the province's AI industry blueprint.
Around 30 experts from industry, academia, research institutions and government participated in the advisory discussions. Key topics included plans to establish a manufacturing physical AI industry hub, policy directions for AI transformation (AX) of regional small and mid-sized enterprises, and strategies to link upstream and downstream industries for manufacturing AI adoption.
The experts agreed that Gyeongnam should actively leverage its strengths as a manufacturing center where nationally critical industries — including aerospace, defense, shipbuilding and nuclear power — are concentrated. They particularly stressed the importance of field-oriented policies, including support for demonstration infrastructure that companies can tangibly benefit from and the training of industry-specific skilled professionals, going beyond mere declarations.
Governor Park said, "We will thoroughly review the various opinions and proposals presented today to ensure they are translated into policy." He added, "We will lay a meaningful foundation for Gyeongnam's new leap forward."