Where is the heart of South Korea's AI industry? While the semiconductor sector thrives in Yongin, the future vehicle industry is growing in Hwaseong, and aerospace is developing in Sacheon, Seongnam stands out as the city with the highest concentration of AI companies, talent, and capital. Pangyo Tech Valley is the largest innovation cluster in the country, home to thousands of ICT and AI firms, including Naver and Kakao.
Seongnam Mayor Shin Sang-jin has focused on attracting the KAIST AI Research Center, promoting the Fourth Tech Valley in Oori, and bringing in defense and AI companies during his current term. He has outlined a vision to expand these initiatives further in his next term.
Although he did not campaign specifically on AI, he has expressed a commitment to continue developing advanced industries in AI, IT, and biotechnology centered around Pangyo, as well as enhancing smart city strategies.
The question is clear.
Can Seongnam become the leading AI platform city in Asia, beyond South Korea?
Pangyo: South Korea's Silicon Valley for AI
Seongnam's strength lies not in manufacturing but in its ecosystem of AI companies.
Pangyo Tech Valley hosts a concentration of firms in gaming, cloud computing, AI, mobility, and fintech, creating the largest innovation ecosystem in the country, where large corporations, startups, venture capitalists, and research institutions thrive together.
Mayor Shin has proposed strategies to further expand the AI industry based on this foundation.
In announcing his candidacy for re-election, he highlighted key achievements from his current term, including the establishment of the KAIST AI Research Center, the promotion of the Fourth Tech Valley in Oori, the attraction of the POSCO Global Center, and the development of the LIG Nex1 global defense R&D complex, stating his goal to make Seongnam a cradle for South Korea's top AI and semiconductor talent.
In the AI era, cities with a high concentration of innovative companies will have the competitive edge over those with many factories.
Seongnam is already at the starting line.
Pangyo Tech Valley is nearing saturation.
The Fourth Tech Valley initiative in Oori, promoted by Mayor Shin, aims to overcome these limitations and expand Seongnam's future growth axis.
He plans to develop the area around Oori Station into a new innovation hub where AI, ICT, biotechnology, and advanced industries can converge.
The AI industry does not grow from a single company alone.
It requires collaboration among research institutions, universities, startups, and investors to create a thriving ecosystem.
The Fourth Tech Valley has the potential to become a new platform that expands the AI innovation ecosystem rather than just serving as an industrial complex.
A City for AI Talent
The core of the AI industry is ultimately its people.
Mayor Shin has worked to attract not only the KAIST AI Research Center but also the Sogang University Digital Innovation Campus and the Sungkyunkwan University Fabless AI Research Center to Seongnam, enhancing the research and educational infrastructure.
In the AI era, talent moves ahead of companies.
When good researchers gather, companies follow, and as companies cluster, investment and jobs increase.
Seongnam is building a structure where research, entrepreneurship, and industry are interconnected within a single ecosystem.
The competitiveness of an AI capital comes not from buildings but from its people.
AI Smart City Transforming Lives
Alongside industrial development, Mayor Shin has actively pursued smart city policies.
Seongnam has expanded smart bus stops, digital administration, and smart mobility initiatives, winning the mobility category award at the World Smart City Awards, the largest of its kind.
The goal of an AI city is not merely to showcase technology.
It is to create convenience that citizens can feel.
Systems that optimize traffic signals, provide real-time bus information, and manage urban safety through AI are likely to expand further.
AI should not be a technology confined to Pangyo but must become a transformative force in the lives of all Seongnam citizens.
A Medical Innovation City Merging AI and Biotechnology
Mayor Shin, a physician by training, has nurtured the biohealth industry as one of Seongnam's future growth axes.
The combination of Bundang Seoul National University Hospital, AI companies in Pangyo, and biotechnology startups could position Seongnam competitively in the fields of medical AI, digital health, and AI drug development.
AI can analyze medical images, identify potential new drugs, and support personalized treatment.
Seongnam is one of the cities where AI and healthcare can merge most naturally.
Challenges on the Path to Becoming an AI Platform Capital
The world has Silicon Valley, while China has Shenzhen.
South Korea has Pangyo.
However, the future competition will not be among IT cities but rather among AI platform cities.
The expansion of the AI industry, the establishment of the Fourth Tech Valley, and the attraction of research institutions promoted by Mayor Shin are all strategies aimed at positioning Seongnam as the center of AI innovation in South Korea.
In the AI era, platforms will drive industries, and cities with platforms will lead national competitiveness.
Seongnam is the city that is first demonstrating this potential.
Mayor Shin's commitments focus on expanding the innovation ecosystem in Pangyo rather than presenting AI as a separate slogan.
The KAIST AI Research Center, the Fourth Tech Valley, the expansion of AI, IT, and biotechnology industries, and the enhancement of smart cities all aim toward a single goal.
That goal is to make Seongnam South Korea's premier AI platform city.
In the AI era, while the capital of manufacturing is important, the capital of innovative companies may become even more crucial.
If Seongnam is the center of South Korea's AI ecosystem, Mayor Shin's challenge is to elevate that ecosystem to a global standard.
Shin Sang-jin, the Mayor of Seongnam, is a physician and politician who graduated from Seoul National University College of Medicine. He has served as the president of the Korean Medical Association, a four-term member of the National Assembly, and the chair of the National Assembly's Science, Technology, Information, Broadcasting, and Communications Committee. He was re-elected as the Mayor of Seongnam for his second term after serving in the eighth term. During his tenure, he has focused on attracting the KAIST AI Research Center, promoting the Fourth Tech Valley in Oori, bringing in the POSCO Global Center, and developing the LIG Nex1 global defense R&D complex. In his ninth term, he aims to further expand advanced industries in AI, IT, and biotechnology centered around Pangyo, with a vision of making Seongnam a representative AI innovation city in South Korea.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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