Regional Competition Heats Up Over 2nd Public Institution Relocation as AI and Data Map Shifts

As the government begins the 2nd relocation of public institutions to the provinces, competition is intensifying over which region will attract AI-, data- and ICT-related agencies. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced the "Principles and Promotion Direction for the 2nd Relocation of Public Institutions to the Provinces" on the 3rd.

The core of this relocation is to cluster public institutions around existing innovation cities, while also strengthening links with local universities and industries. The five principles the government laid out are minimizing remaining institutions in the Seoul metropolitan area, clustering around existing innovation cities, linking with local universities and industries, expanding self-sustaining residential infrastructure, and moving at a brisk pace. Relocation destinations will be decided by taking into account the 5 mega-regions and 3 special zones growth engines, the functional groups of existing innovation cities, and local infrastructure.

In line with this policy, competition is also underway among 7 regions, including Jeonnam-Gwangju, Busan and Daegu, to be selected as the Asia-Pacific AI special district. Interest is also growing in building regional hubs that link public institutions with government AI projects.

The government has begun a process of social public discussion and plans to gather input from relevant ministries, public institutions and labor unions. After deliberation and approval by the Presidential Committee on Balanced National Development, it will finalize the relocation plan in the 4th quarter of this year and begin moving leading institutions from 2027.

The government cites the limitations of the 1st relocation as the background for emphasizing clustered placement. Although 150 institutions and about 50,000 workers moved to the provinces from 2005 to 2019, the 1st relocation was carried out through dispersed placement of institutions, and it is now being assessed as having faced limitations in building industrial-academic-research clusters as a result.

Accordingly, the 2nd relocation places more weight on linking institution relocation with local industries, and the goal is to improve clustering effects. However, the institutions to be moved and the regions they will go to have not yet been decided.

The confirmation of target institutions will proceed through review by the relevant ministries and discussions by the relocation subcommittee under the Presidential Committee on Balanced National Development. Which institutions will move where has not yet been determined.

Alongside these public institution relocation discussions, competition for regional AI hubs is also accelerating. The Ministry of Science and ICT and the National IT Industry Promotion Agency (NIPA) are promoting the Asia-Pacific AI special district project, and the competing regions are 7 areas: Jeonnam-Gwangju, Daegu, Busan, Jeonbuk, Gyeongnam, Chungbuk and Gangwon.

The Asia-Pacific AI special district project is designed to build on existing regional AI and digital innovation hubs. The project is structured around fostering links between companies and universities or research institutions, while also seeking to expand global cooperation.

As the relocation principles also emphasize local industry linkage, regional moves to secure both AI-related government projects and public institutions are gaining momentum. Jeonnam-Gwangju is selecting target institutions based on its AI- and energy-centered strategic industries, and among its priority targets are the Korea Data Agency (K-DATA), the Korea Agency for Infrastructure Technology Advancement, the Korea Technology and Information Promotion Agency for SMEs, and the Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning. It is also seeking to attract ICT-related agencies such as the Telecommunications Technology Association (TTA).

Among them, K-DATA is responsible for fostering the data industry, supporting companies and building a foundation for data utilization. Because K-DATA is closely related to the established AI industry, it has strong points of contact with Jeonnam-Gwangju. Jeonnam-Gwangju is planning to combine public institution functions with the nurturing of AI data centers, companies and talent, linking data utilization, corporate support and commercialization.

Naju Innovation City already has a foundation for attraction strategies built around existing public institutions. It hosts agencies including the Korea Communication Agency (KCA), and if AI- and ICT-related institutions are added to these existing agencies, it could achieve clustering of functions in the information and communications sector.

The government has set forth a principle of clustered placement centered on innovation cities. As a result, the connectivity between existing institutions and newly relocated institutions is emerging as a key variable in the attraction race.

At the same time, other regions such as Busan and Gyeongnam are also joining the competition for AI hubs by highlighting their core industries. Busan is applying AI to ports, logistics, finance and maritime industries, while Gyeongnam is applying AI to aerospace, defense, shipbuilding and machinery industries. Daegu, Jeonbuk, Chungbuk and Gangwon are also pursuing the attraction of the Asia-Pacific AI special district by leveraging their industrial bases and AI infrastructure.

The 2nd relocation of public institutions is taking place in an industrial environment that differs from the time of the 1st relocation. Each region is promoting large-scale projects such as AI data centers, industrial AX and physical AI, and as a result, the importance of not only which institutions are attracted but also how they connect with existing industries is increasing.

Public institutions related to AI, data and ICT handle corporate support, R&D, data utilization, policy research and technology verification. If such institutions are established in a region, the expected role goes beyond the movement of organizations and personnel to linking local companies and universities with government AI projects. The Asia-Pacific AI special district faces the same task.

The building of AI infrastructure in each region is expanding, and the success conditions for support policies outside the Seoul metropolitan area, such as the 2nd relocation of public institutions and the Asia-Pacific AI special district, depend on close links between local industrial bases and AI. If institutions and projects are attracted and then operated separately from existing industries, it will be difficult to create clustering effects.

Future competitiveness is expected to be judged by how well core industries, companies, universities and research institutions come together and whether that leads to actual business and investment linkages. Support policies for regions outside the Seoul metropolitan area, including the relocation of public institutions and the Asia-Pacific AI special district, can also deliver results only when they organically connect local existing industries, companies, universities and research institutions, and government AI projects, leading to real business and investment.

An industry expert said that although a number of support policies for regions outside the Seoul metropolitan area are being promoted, the condition for real impact lies in linking them with the region's existing industrial base and AI. The expert also said policy and project design is needed that strengthens the competitiveness of existing industries rather than pursuing AI projects unrelated to regional characteristics.

Source: TECHWORLD · Kim Seung-gi
Original: https://www.epnc.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=406552

References

• https://www.epnc.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=406552