Busan and Daegu Selected as Pilot Sites for Regional Digital Innovation Hubs

Busan Centum City and Daegu Suseong Alpha City
Selected as Optimal Locations for Regional Digital Ecosystem Growth
Initial Funding of 6.3 Billion KRW per Region Supported Over 3 Years

On the 30th, the Ministry of Science and ICT announced that it will launch a "Digital Innovation Hub Creation Support Pilot Project" for three years starting this year, targeting two locations: Busan Centum City and Daegu Suseong Alpha City. Each region will receive 6.3 billion KRW in national funding. Local governments will have autonomy in planning and project implementation to intensively establish core sites with ▲digital infrastructure ▲digital technology development and verification through industry-academia-research cooperation systems ▲talent and enterprise exchange networks.

To ensure the sustainability of digital innovation hub creation even after the project ends, policy research support for establishing mid- to long-term development plans (including preliminary feasibility study pre-planning costs) will be conducted concurrently. A total of 10 regions applied for this competition, recording a 5:1 competition ratio. Over two months, an evaluation committee composed of private experts conducted selection evaluations based on ▲site suitability ▲appropriateness of development plans ▲local government capabilities and policy commitment through document and presentation evaluations, on-site inspections, and comprehensive reviews. Through this process, Busan Centum City and Daegu Suseong Alpha City, which received high evaluations, were selected.

Busan City is promoting the pilot project with the vision of “developing Centum City, home to leading domestic and international digital companies, into a digital convergence hub similar to Pangyo.” Daegu City aims to create a digital innovation hub centered on Suseong Alpha City, where approximately 250 digital companies are expected to complete their move-in, with the goal of establishing an ABB-centered digital innovation hub focusing on Artificial Intelligence (A), Big Data (B), and Blockchain (B).

Oh Yong-su, Director of Software Policy at the Ministry of Science and ICT, stated, “We will actively support local governments’ mid- to long-term development plans so that this pilot project, which serves as a catalyst, can lead to sustainable outcomes in forming digital new industry hubs based on the unique characteristics and strengths of each region.”