Approximately 7 Billion Won in Government Funding Allocated to Each Local Government
for Customized AI Transformation Programs
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on October 1 that it has selected Gyeongsangnam-do, Daegu Metropolitan City, Ulsan Metropolitan City, Jeollanam-do, and Jeju Special Self-Governing Province as the five final metropolitan local governments to participate in the "2025 Region-Led AI Transformation" project.
The "Region-Led AI Transformation" project is a two-year initiative that supports customized AI utilization and dissemination programs autonomously planned by local governments, tailored to the characteristics and circumstances of local industries, in order to accelerate AI adoption among regional small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with low AI utilization rates.
As a result of the application and submission process for project proposals, 13 local governments applied, demonstrating high interest. The evaluation committee, composed of experts from industry, academia, and research institutes, conducted both document reviews and in-person evaluations of the submitted proposals. Based on the combined results, five local governments were ultimately selected.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups will provide approximately 7 billion won (up to 60% of the total project cost) to the selected five local governments. The metropolitan local governments will match at least 40% of the total project cost, including the self-contribution of participating SMEs, as they implement the project. The same budget scale is expected to be provided in 2026.
Han Sung-sook, Minister of SMEs and Startups, stated, "To ensure swift project implementation, we will establish a close cooperation system with metropolitan local governments and continue to support more regional SMEs in adopting and utilizing AI technology so that tangible results, such as improvements in quality, productivity, and sales, can be achieved."
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