South Chungcheong Province is leaping forward as a leading region in the "AI grand transition." Semiconductors are at its core. Called the rice of industry, semiconductors are also essential technology in the AI era. The province hosts about 1,300 semiconductor corporations, the most outside the Seoul metropolitan area. There are also more than 500 display corporations that handle the consolidation between people and AI. The plan is to build an AI ecosystem on these two industries and innovate the structure of all industries.
◇ No. 1 trade surplus led by semiconductors and displays
As of September this year, South Chungcheong Province posted a trade surplus of $40.514 billion (about 60 trillion won), the largest in the country. The gap with No. 2 Ulsan ($30.56 billion, about 45 trillion won) is close to $10 billion (about 15 trillion won). Of the province's $68.814 billion (about 101 trillion won) in exports, semiconductors (38.9%) and displays (10.2%) account for half.
South Chungcheong is the nation's largest semiconductor cluster outside the Seoul metropolitan area. A total of 1,266 corporations employ about 24,000 workers. The province has the third-most semiconductor corporations nationwide, after Gyeonggi and Incheon.
Notably, packaging corporations such as Samsung Electronics, HANA Micron, and SFA Semicon, and materials, parts, and equipment (MPE) companies such as SEMES and INNOX Advanced Materials are based there.
Displays are effectively centered in South Chungcheong for domestic production. According to the Korea Display Industry Association, as of last year, 58.1% of domestic display production came from the province. Of the global market share of 33.1%, the province accounts for 19.4%. Including Samsung Display, about 470 corporations are located there, employing 45,000 workers.
◇ "Supporting fire" for next-generation industries… post-processing test bed and training specialized talent
The province will expand infrastructure investment to strengthen competitiveness in semiconductors and displays. From next year through 2030, it will invest a total of 30 billion won in Asan to build an "advanced semiconductor post-processing MPE test bed." With mass-production-level clean rooms and 12-inch-based equipment, it will support a post-processing turnkey that allows semiconductor intellectual property (IP) and fabless corporations to handle "testing → packaging → inspection" in one go.
It is also moving to secure specialized talent. In partnership with local universities, it will train technical talent in process and equipment, packaging, and measurement, analysis, and inspection, and the South Chungcheong Semiconductor Meister High School, which opened this year, will produce 200 on-site personnel annually. The plan also includes operating advanced courses for incumbent experts to raise capabilities in the field.
For displays, the goal is to raise the localization rate. This is to prepare for recent supply chain instability and trade disputes. Centered on six industrial complexes in Cheonan and Asan, the localization rate for OLED MPE rose from the 60% range in 2019 to the 70% range. Last year, it was selected by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy as an "excellent MPE complex."
◇ AI grand transition strategy… big tech, academia, and research institutions converge
The province recently launched a special AI committee and is speeding up the establishment of an AI transition strategy. Under the goal of "soaring beyond limits, South Chungcheong AI grand transition," it presented six strategies: ▲ building an AI-based innovation hub industrial ecosystem ▲ artificial intelligence transition (AX) in manufacturing processes ▲ smart agriculture, livestock, and fisheries AX ▲ convergent bio AX ▲ AI urban services ▲ AI public innovation.
The AI special committee consists of 32 members, including executives from global big tech, academia, and research institutions. They include 14 executives from global big tech and advanced industries such as Kim Sun-sik, head of public projects at Google Cloud Korea; Kim Min-seong, executive director at Korea IBM Business Planning Office; and Kim Geun-ho, CEO of Ricoh; 12 from academia, including Kim Beom-su, professor at Yonsei University Graduate School of Information, and Kim Tae-hyeong, dean of Dankook University Graduate School of Information Convergence Technology and Entrepreneurship; and six from research institutions, including the Agency for Defense Development (ADD), Korea Institute for Industrial Economics & Trade (KIET), National Information Society Agency (NIA), and Korea Data Agency.
The AI special committee will establish the province's AI grand transition strategy and handle deliberation and advice on follow-up plans. Early next year, it plans to finalize South Chungcheong's AI grand transition vision, concrete strategies, and detailed project plans.
Kim Tae-heum, governor of South Chungcheong Province, said, "South Chungcheong is like the 'heart of Korea's economy,' leading future advanced industries such as semiconductors and displays," adding, "by securing water resources and building power facilities, we will establish an implementation system for the AI grand transition across industries."