- Registration date2024-10-28
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Minister for Trade, Industry and Energy Dukgeun Ahn of the Republic of Korea attended the AI Autonomous Manufacturing Anchor Project Agreement Ceremony today in Seoul and announced 26 projects set for launch this year.
Participating in the anchor projects are a number of Korea’s major manufacturing companies including Hyundai Motor, GS Caltex, Samsung Heavy Industries, POSCO, and Korean Air. With 213 submissions sent in for the selection of 10 projects, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) increased the number of anchor projects from the initial 10 to 26 as a nod to companies’ keen interest, which can be attributed to artificial intelligence (AI) playing a crucial role in their future manufacturing survival strategy.
The AI Autonomous Manufacturing Anchor Project is meaningful in that AI is an efficient means of responding to working age population declines and demographic shifts. With the introduction of AI, human errors are decreased, quality control can reach new heights, and businesses can react quickly to consumer needs and other rapidly changing market trends. AI deployment further contributes to carbon reduction and onsite safety, enhances productivity, and reduces costs across all sectors.
The total investment for the 26 anchor projects amounts to KRW 3.7 trillion, ₩190 billion of which the Korean government and local authorities will be funding over a four-year period. Through the anchor projects, MOTIE is looking forward to raising productivity by over 30 percent, while lowering costs, product defect rate, and energy consumption by over 20 percent, 50 percent, and 10 percent, respectively.
Beginning with 26 projects this year, MOTIE plans to increase the number of anchor projects to 200 by 2027, which are expected to draw over ₩20 trillion in investment to Korea. Going forward, the anchor projects will center around the AI Autonomous Manufacturing Alliance (“Alliance”), which the ministry launched in July 2024 with the participation of 153 companies and institutions from 12 sectors in order to prevent the anchor projects from being reduced to a one-time or sporadic event. MOTIE intends to scale up the overall project to cover SMEs, middle-market companies, and large corporations within the Alliance based on sector-specific roadmaps.
For firms neither part of the Alliance nor anchor projects, an AI Manufacturing Foundation Model will be developed starting this year with a total investment of ₩10 billion, with the participation of related research institutions like the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology (KITECH) and the Korea Electronics Technology Institute (KETI). Based on data and technologies gained through the anchor projects, these institutions will work in tandem to create the foundation model for distribution across manufacturing sites by 2026 or later. Using the foundation model, manufacturers will be able to establish AI manufacturing systems tailored to their respective procedures.
Local government bodies will also join in the effort to spread the use of AI in Korea’s manufacturing sites. First, they will work on uncovering anchor projects with a focus on locally specialized industries. Moreover, they will push the establishment of AI autonomous manufacturing hubs to promote the diffusion of AI within their regions. Industrial complexes will assist tenant businesses’ AI manufacturing innovations by providing a simulation center, module center, and an innovation data center for shared use. K-SURE is to provide ₩10 trillion in trade financing over a five-year period to assist the AI autonomous manufacturing projects of companies taking part in the Alliance.