Advanced Industry Bureau Launched on July 1 Through Organizational Restructuring
First Supplementary Budget Allocated to 16 Projects in AI, Defense Industry, DX, and Robotics
Since the launch of the 8th popularly elected administration in 2022, Gumi City in North Gyeongsang Province has continued its development under the slogan "Innovation and More Innovation." In July, the newly established Advanced Industry Bureau, created through an organizational restructuring, has embarked on yet another wave of innovation.
The Advanced Industry Bureau is composed of three departments. The New Industry Policy Division is responsible for discovering and fostering future growth engine industries and establishing mid- to long-term development strategies.
The Semiconductor & Defense Industry Division is in charge of nurturing the city’s main industries such as semiconductors, defense, and next-generation mobility. The Strategic Industry Division creates synergy by integrating new growth engine industries with the city’s core industries, and manages sectors such as robotics, secondary batteries, advanced materials and components, and energy.
Through this supplementary budget, the Advanced Industry Bureau has reviewed its business direction, reduced non-urgent expenditures, secured 125.2 billion KRW (203.9 billion KRW including national and provincial funds) for local government matching funds for public projects and infrastructure for new growth engines, thereby laying the groundwork for new growth in the regional economy.
The main keywords of this supplementary budget, which secured an additional 4.37 billion KRW for a total of 16 projects, are the establishment of a foundation for manufacturing technology innovation, building a defense industry ecosystem, and securing momentum for the robotics industry. The major projects provide a glimpse into the tasks the Advanced Industry Bureau must tackle.
The New Industry Policy Division allocated 2.32 billion KRW to 10 projects, including the Hyper-scale AI Cloud and Demonstration Expansion Environment Project, the Smart Factory Dissemination Project, and industry-academia collaboration-based talent development.
In particular, the "Hyper-scale AI Cloud and Demonstration Expansion Environment Project" aims to develop and demonstrate services needed in the defense manufacturing sector using hyper-scale AI and to build an industry-academia-research cooperation ecosystem. The project will be carried out until 2026 with a total budget of 23.1 billion KRW. In this supplementary budget, 740 million KRW was allocated as the city and provincial government’s share for the 2024 project.
The "Smart Factory Dissemination Project" increased its budget by 270 million KRW for a total of 400 million KRW, supporting the construction costs for entry-level smart factories for local small and medium-sized enterprises.
By providing on-site customized smart factory solutions such as MES and EMS, the project aims to support the digital transformation of industrial complex companies and strengthen the competitiveness of manufacturing sites.
Additionally, to strengthen the research base of key local industries and foster demand-driven professional talent, 310 million KRW in local government matching funds was allocated for four industry-academia collaboration support projects selected through joint applications by local universities and Gumi City.
The Semiconductor & Defense Industry Division, building on last year’s designation of the Defense Innovation Cluster and the Semiconductor Materials and Components Advanced Strategic Industry Specialized Complex, allocated 250 million KRW for a feasibility study to designate a specialized complex for advanced materials, components, and equipment in the defense industry.
Furthermore, the division reflected the national government’s funding for projects by the Defense Acquisition Program Administration that support automation facility construction, facility expansion, and inspection equipment improvement to enhance the productivity of local defense SMEs.
The Strategic Industry Division allocated 320 million KRW as the city’s share for the "Advanced Robot Flagship Project" (total budget: 910 million KRW), which supports prototype production, design development, commercialization strategy formulation, startup idea realization programs, and networking for robotics companies to foster the region’s specialized advanced robotics industry.
Mayor Kim Jangho stated, "Since the 8th administration, we have been working to give Gumi a more 'romantic' image, but policies to foster the manufacturing industry that supports Gumi must continue. The establishment of the Advanced Industry Bureau is for this very reason," adding, "Through this supplementary budget, we will thoroughly implement various projects and do our best to promote advanced industry development by discovering projects based on government policies and local business needs."
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