SK said on the 25th that it held the "2025 Ulsan Forum" under the theme "CONNECTING Ulsan: linking technology and culture" at the Ulsan Exhibition and Convention Center (UECO) in Ulju-gun, Ulsan, on the 24th.
This year's Ulsan Forum was held around two core sessions: ◇ Ulsan as a manufacturing AI hub ◇ building a regional culture network.
In the "Ulsan as a manufacturing AI hub" session, participants explored Ulsan-centered future manufacturing AI businesses and focused on ways to implement a mega sandbox for innovation.
Lee Sedol, a distinguished professor at the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), in a keynote speech on "The AI era: the need for innovation and cooperation," stressed the possibilities of the AI era and the need for cross-sector cooperation and innovation across fields of society.
Officials from SK Telecom, Hyundai Motor, the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI), UNIST, and Ulsan Metropolitan City took part in a panel discussion on a mega sandbox plan to build "Ulsan manufacturing AI."
They discussed sandbox measures including: ▲ implementing a comprehensive talent development program linking education to employment ▲ introducing a public data specialized agency, a consultative body for small, medium, and large companies, and a smart transportation system ▲ designating an autonomous driving regulation-free zone and a distributed energy special district to meet the power demand of AI data centers.
In the "regional culture network" session, participants sought ways to create synergy in building a cultural city through the solidarity and consolidation of the Haeoreum Alliance, which includes not only Ulsan but also Gyeongju and Pohang, by uncovering various cultural items that capture the distinctiveness of Korea's southeastern region.
Park Woong-hyun, head of the organizational culture lab at TBWA Korea, emphasized the value from a humanities perspective found in Ulsan's daily life and urban landscape and the potential of local culture. By reviewing cases of cities such as Naoshima in Japan and Lecce in Italy transforming into culture and tourism hubs, he explored Ulsan's potential to evolve into a cultural city.
Choi Chang-won, chair of the SK SUPEX Council, said in the closing session that day, "Recently, corporations and local communities are seeing their sustainability shaken by regional extinction, climate change, and geoeconomic factors. In this situation, our manufacturing sector could also lose competitiveness, but AI has appeared like a savior. Through AI technology, we can seize the opportunity to regain business competitiveness."