Google Partners with Gyeongbuk Province to Promote Gyeongju APEC Worldwide... MOU Signed

Gyeongbuk Province, which is accelerating preparations for APEC 2025 KOREA, has gained a strong ally. The global leading tech company Google has joined as a key partner.

On May 9, Gyeongbuk Province and Google held a signing ceremony for a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to establish a mutual cooperation system at the provincial government office. The event was attended by Lee Cheolwoo, Governor of Gyeongbuk Province, Yang Geumhee, Vice Governor for Economic Affairs, Chris Turner, Google Global Vice President, and Hwang Sunghye, Vice President of Google Korea. Both parties agreed to build a sustained partnership moving forward.

Chris Turner, Google Global Vice President (left), is taking a commemorative photo with Lee Cheolwoo, Governor of Gyeongbuk Province, after signing a memorandum of understanding with Gyeongbuk Province to promote the Gyeongju APEC to the world.

With the signing of the MOU, Gyeongbuk Province and Google will form a joint front to ensure the successful hosting of APEC 2025 KOREA in Gyeongju. They aim to promote Gyeongbuk to the world with Gyeongju at its center, creating a groundbreaking turning point for local tourism development.

In the medium to long term, they also agreed to cooperate in a variety of fields, including advancing the region's digital transformation and enhancing residents' AI capabilities, to pursue shared growth.

Google and Gyeongbuk Province already share a history. In 2018, Governor Lee Cheolwoo, during his visit to the United States, saw a dinosaur model at Google's headquarters. Inspired by the idea that dinosaurs, despite their size and strength, disappeared because they could not adapt to changing environments, he installed a dinosaur model in the provincial office to emphasize to staff that "change is essential for survival." Building on this, in 2023, Gyeongbuk signed an agreement with Google Cloud for AI talent development, and through the AI Promotion Center at Kyungpook National University, about 100 AI professionals are trained annually.

Based on this relationship, Gyeongbuk Province has established a strategic partnership with Google's headquarters and expects Google to play a new game-changing role in ensuring the successful hosting of APEC and revitalizing the local economy through tourism promotion.

Google has also demonstrated strong interest in collaborating with Gyeongbuk, with executives and staff from its U.S. headquarters, Asia Pacific headquarters (based in Singapore), and Korea office making significant visits to the provincial office.

The strategic partnership will begin with concrete actions such as providing guidance for major APEC venues and promoting tourist attractions. Information about Gyeongbuk and APEC will be significantly enhanced on Google Maps, the world's most widely used map service, and a variety of content will be provided through Google's platforms to allow people to vividly experience APEC and Gyeongbuk.

In addition, there are plans to expand Google's AI education program, currently underway at Kyungpook National University, throughout the province, and to actively create opportunities for local youth and startups to participate.

Separately, Gyeongsangbuk-do has proposed several projects for collaboration with Google and plans to gradually increase points of contact where local residents can engage with Google through ongoing discussions.

After the MOU signing, Chris Turner, Google Global Vice President, visited Hahoe Folk Village in Andong to experience traditional Korean culture. He expressed his gratitude for the warm hospitality of Gyeongbuk Province and stated, "I am confident that the strategic partnership between Google and Gyeongbuk Province will lead to the successful hosting of APEC 2025 KOREA and play a positive role in our shared development."

Governor Lee Cheolwoo said, "I hope that people around the world will be able to experience APEC 2025 KOREA, held in Gyeongsangbuk-do, through Google Maps and various other platforms. To further elevate the partnership between Google and Gyeongsangbuk-do, I will formally invite Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google, to the CEO Summit during APEC 2025 KOREA."