[Feature] Honam Region Restructures Economy with "AI and Mobility"... Aiming to Reverse Talent Outflow

<2>Seeking Solutions to Regional Extinction Through Science and Technology
Leading the Knowledge Industry with Regional Technology Branding
Accelerating Carbon-Neutral Processes in Petrochemicals and Batteries
Urgent Need for Corporate Supp

Editor's NoteThe so-called Honam Super Metropolitan Area-comprising Gwangju, South Jeolla, and North Jeolla-has already surpassed the statistical threshold and is now classified as a "danger zone," with warning signals of regional extinction flashing red. However, crises always bring new opportunities. The Honam Bureau of The Asia Business Daily presents a three-part feature series based on the report "Science and Technology Policy Research for the Revitalization of the Honam Super Metropolitan Area," published by the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAST). KAST is the nation’s top science and technology advisory body, representing the collective intelligence of Korea’s leading scholars and proposing future national strategies. The first article covered "super-metropolitan governance," which breaks down boundaries between local governments and consolidates research and development capabilities. The second article addressed the transformation toward "knowledge-based innovative industries" such as mobility and batteries. The final, third article highlights a convergence model of Honam's asset-renewable energy-and its driving force-AI. The report asserts that local survival is synonymous with national competitiveness, urging that regions be redefined not simply as recipients of support but as a "new engine" for national development. The envisioned "green digital economic zone," created by combining Honam's sunlight and wind with the brainpower of AI, is presented as the only viable alternative to overcoming the dominance of the Seoul metropolitan area. We hope this series will serve as a catalyst for the development of practical action plans.

Cover of "Science and Technology Policy Research for the Revitalization of the Honam Super Metropolitan Area" published by Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAST)

Riding the global wave of energy transition and the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the Honam region is staking its future on building a "knowledge-based innovation economy" that organically integrates renewable energy, artificial intelligence (AI), and mobility technologies. The strategy is to establish world-class integrated demonstration infrastructure and completely redraw the map of local industries, thereby attracting young talent who would otherwise head to the capital region.

According to the KAST research report "Science and Technology Policy Research for the Revitalization of the Honam Super Metropolitan Area," released on January 13, the three cities and provinces of Honam have developed a concrete technology roadmap to leap beyond Korea and into the global knowledge economy through a "super-metropolitan linkage model" that combines each region's key strengths.

Future Mobility Innovation: From Hardware to a Software Hub

In the mobility sector, Gwangju's complete vehicle manufacturing capabilities, North Jeolla's specialty vehicle and autonomous driving testbeds, and South Jeolla's urban air mobility (UAM) demonstration assets are being integrated. The report emphasizes a shift from serving merely as an automobile production base to building a knowledge-based "mobility software" industry, including autonomous driving algorithms and integrated control systems. To achieve this, the report proposes a "demonstration hub" strategy, establishing integrated demonstration infrastructure at the super-metropolitan level to attract global mobility companies to Honam.

For the battery industry, the solution proposed is to build a "circular battery value chain" that links North Jeolla's mineral processing, South Jeolla's resource recycling and materialization, and Gwangju's module and system manufacturing capabilities. The plan is for Saemangeum in North Jeolla to focus on securing self-sufficiency in key battery minerals through a specialized secondary battery complex, Gwangyang in South Jeolla to establish a materialization base by extracting valuable metals from spent batteries, and Gwangju to become a hub for module and system manufacturing by incorporating AI technologies. Through this, the aim is to establish a full-cycle battery industry cluster spanning the entire Honam region, thereby securing a leading position in the future energy market.

Overcoming Petrochemical Complex Crisis: "Carbon Neutral" Process Conversion as the Only Path to Survival

For the Yeosu petrochemical industrial complex, which is facing a survival crisis due to global oversupply and strict carbon regulations, the report calls for robust structural reforms. It proposes a complete replacement of fossil fuel-based feedstocks with biomass or pyrolysis oil from waste plastics, and a transition of combustion facilities to electrified processes based on renewable energy. Achieving carbon neutrality across the entire "feedstock-energy-process" chain is identified as the only breakthrough for securing global competitiveness.

The report also stresses that it is urgent to establish a "corporate comprehensive startup support system" to ensure that these advanced strategic technologies lead not only to research but also to actual job creation. It recommends designating large-scale "startup towns" within the region and providing package support in administration, technology, marketing, finance, and intellectual property, in order to redirect the flow of talent from the capital area back to the region. The active adoption of an accelerator system, in which anchor companies or successful mid-sized enterprises nurture subsequent startups, is also suggested as an alternative.

Furthermore, the report emphasizes the need to transform knowledge industry centers from simple space rental businesses into "startup platforms" linked with anchor companies and accelerators, and to establish a local technology transaction market so that end-users of technology can be secured within the region.

Moon Seunghyun, Invited Distinguished Professor at Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, stated, "It is a significant national burden for a region to remain merely a production cluster," adding, "For a successful transition to a knowledge-based innovation industry, universities must innovate in education and research, and regional specialized technologies must be powerfully branded."