Focusing on Nurturing AI Talent... Seoul's "Yangjae AI Tech City" Enters Full-Scale Development

Review of Research-Residential Complex Spatial Plan
Planned as a 270,000 m² Development in the Yangjae AI District
Synergy Through Talent Attraction and Building the AI Ecosystem
City Expands Administrative and Financial Support to Secure Talent

The "Seoul Artificial Intelligence (AI) Tech City," which the Seoul Metropolitan Government is constructing in Yangjae-dong, is entering full-scale development. This is the first project by a local government in South Korea to build a combined research and residential complex for AI talent.

According to the maintenance industry on January 5, the Seoul Metropolitan Government has begun reviewing the spatial planning proposal for the "Seoul AI Tech City" project, which will utilize the site of the Yangjae Wholesale Market and surrounding public contribution land.

Interior view of the 'Seoul AI Hub' operated by the Seoul Metropolitan Government in the Yangjae AI Future Convergence Innovation District. Photo by Seoul Metropolitan Government

"Seoul AI Tech City" will be established within the "Yangjae AI Innovation District" and will have a total floor area of 270,000 square meters. This is ten times the size of the existing AI Hub (an institution supporting startup incubation) and is being pursued to foster the AI industry and nurture talent intensively. Although the "Seoul AI Hub," which serves as the control tower for AI industry support facilities and a specialized institution for fostering technology startups, opened in the Yangjae Innovation District in 2024, it was determined that there were limitations to its role as an anchor facility.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government began developing the spatial plan last year. With the concept of "An AI Industrial City within Seoul," the main goal is to provide both research labs and residential spaces simultaneously to AI talent from domestic and international graduate schools and world-class research institutions. In a recent interim review, not only were the detailed plans for establishing "Seoul AI Tech City" confirmed, but the current status of AI industry support infrastructure in Korea was also examined. The strategy is to maximize synergy by attracting various AI innovation ecosystems, including AI startups, in addition to nurturing talent. Construction of "Seoul AI Tech City" is scheduled to begin in 2028.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government expects that the creation of "Seoul AI Tech City" will accelerate the development of the "Yangjae AI Future Convergence Innovation District." In 2024, the city designated approximately 400,000 square meters in Yangjae-dong and Umyeon-dong, Seocho-gu, as an "AI Special Zone." This is the first time in the country that a region has been designated as a specialized development zone for the AI sector. Six regulatory exceptions, including those related to the Patent Act and the Immigration Control Act, are currently applied within the AI Special Zone. Patent applications receive priority review to support the rapid commercialization of technology. The process for issuing foreign visas has been streamlined, and the permitted period of stay has been extended from three years to five years to help secure outstanding overseas talent.

Administrative and financial support is also being expanded. With the goal of nurturing 10,000 AI professionals annually, the city is actively responding to the demand for AI talent. Last year, a new scholarship program for master's degree students in science and engineering fields, including AI, was established. This measure is aimed at strengthening AI technological competitiveness and securing top talent, as well as addressing the growing outflow of science and engineering talent overseas. From the second half of the year, the scope of support was quickly expanded to include doctoral students. In the future, the city plans to further extend support to advanced research personnel, such as postdoctoral researchers ("post-docs").