Establishing Three Major Master Plans Including Infrastructure Development
Seocho-gu Leaps Forward as a Future-Oriented Advanced City
Over 110 Billion KRW Fund to Be Created Over Five Years
Seocho-gu, Seoul (Mayor Jeon Seong-su) announced on the 6th that it will activate three major master plans? infrastructure construction, investment, and talent development? for the ‘Yangjae AI Future Convergence Innovation Zone’ (Yangjae AI Zone) to revitalize the artificial intelligence (AI) industry ecosystem and propel Seocho-gu into a future-oriented advanced city.
The district plans to actively promote the activation of an AI-centered industrial ecosystem and administrative innovation starting this year, centered around the Yangjae AI Zone. The Yangjae and Umyeon-dong areas were designated last November as the nation’s first special zone for AI, drawing attention as a key outpost for the AI industry, which is a core power determining national competitiveness.
The district will open the Yangjae AI Zone Excellent Enterprise Center (tentative name) within this year as part of infrastructure development. Utilizing the entire 9-floor office building of the Gangnam Data Center, scheduled for completion in June this year, it plans to attract 42 excellent AI startups with 20 to 40 employees each.
Resident companies can benefit from low rent, regulatory exemptions in areas such as patent law and immigration law, as well as synergy effects through networking and technological cooperation with nearby national AI research hubs, Seoul AI Hub, KAIST AI Graduate School, and large corporate research institutes.
The goal is to attract about 1,000 startups within the special zone. In addition to the approximately 500 AI and information and communication technology (ICT) related companies already located in the Yangjae area, the development of urban advanced logistics complexes and The-K Hotel site by Seoul City and central government ministries, as well as the creation of Seoul AI Tech City, will combine to establish a solid AI industry foundation comparable to Silicon Valley.
Furthermore, the district plans to invest heavily in AI companies through a startup fund of 110 billion KRW and support for high-performance computing resources. Recognizing the next five years as a critical period determining the success of AI industry development, the district is creating a fund for active investment during this time.
By investing 3 billion KRW this year, a total fund of 30 billion KRW will be established, and over the next five years, an additional 10 billion KRW will be invested to create a fund exceeding 110 billion KRW. Notably, more than 200% of the district’s investment will be mandatorily invested in local companies to help regional startups focus on securing initial capital and technology development.
The district also supports the usage fees for high-performance computing resources for AI companies. High-performance computing resources are essential for AI and ICT development such as deep learning, but it is difficult for each company to rent GPU servers worth tens of millions of KRW. Last year, the district supported about 200 million KRW worth of computing resource usage fees for 13 companies, enabling efficient use of computing resources without massive capital.
Seocho-gu is also actively engaged in talent development, a core element of the AI industry ecosystem. The district continuously operates the ‘Seocho AI College’ program to discover young talent and strengthen the capabilities of current employees. A notable feature is the significant improvement in education quality through cooperation with KAIST.
The district is also actively pursuing administrative innovation using AI. Through AI-based life-oriented services, it is developing into a smart future city in four areas: education and employment, welfare and health, public safety, and administrative services.
Various educational programs are provided so residents can naturally acquire and utilize AI technology. For students, support is provided for AI learning to be naturally integrated into the curriculum through ‘AI-based customized public education,’ and digital education for residents has expanded both in scope and target to help them easily learn the latest AI technologies.
AI technology has also been actively introduced into welfare services. For socially isolated households such as elderly living alone, AI automatically makes calls to check on their well-being and provides customized welfare and counseling services. AI-based personalized exercise prescriptions have also strengthened health management for the elderly.
Through an AI-based selective surveillance system, abnormal behaviors such as wandering, intrusion, and falling are automatically detected, and missing person searches and problem vehicle tracking are swiftly conducted using an intelligent high-speed search system. The recently installed AI crosswalk uses advanced radar, vehicle detectors, and wireless communication equipment to detect approaching vehicles and pedestrians from 50 meters before the intersection and notify them via smart signs, which is expected to drastically reduce right-turn traffic accidents.
For residents’ convenience, AI is also being integrated into administrative services. Starting this year, the district plans to implement an ‘AI Memo’ service where AI will receive civil complaints on behalf of civil service officers when they are absent or on the phone.
Mayor Jeon Seong-su emphasized, “Seocho-gu will do its utmost to activate the AI industry ecosystem centered on the Yangjae AI Zone and establish itself as a global technology innovation city,” adding, “We will lay the foundation to leap forward as a future advanced city leading the AI industry through solid infrastructure construction, active investment, and the cultivation of top talent.”
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
