The 18th Good Growth, Good Jobs Global Forum (2026 GGGF) will be held from September 2 to 4, organized by Aju Economic Daily.
This forum, themed "Korea, State of AI," will provide a significant opportunity to explore the adoption of physical AI by Korean companies and the global status of Korean AI.
The first keynote speech will be delivered by Dennis Hong, a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at UCLA and director of the Robotics and Mechanisms Laboratory (RoMeLa). He is recognized as a leading expert in physical AI, and his talk, titled "The Realization of AI Civilization Depends on Physical AI Competitiveness," will offer insights into future innovations brought by physical AI and the challenges faced by Korean society and businesses.
Following this, Lim Jeong-hwan, CEO of Motif Technologies, who has previously challenged the government-led "Dukpa Mo" initiative and the "Everyone's AI" project, will present the second keynote on "K-AI Future Vision Amid U.S.-China Competition."
The third keynote will be given by Lee Geum-ryong, chairman of Koglo.com, who previously served as CEO of Auction and successfully led the company's listing and sale. He will discuss "The Popularization of AI and the Future of Youth Employment" in a special lecture.
Session 1 will focus on "AX Value Chain Hub, Future Growth Keywords." Yoon Min-soo, CRO of A2Sys and KAIST chair professor, will present research findings on AI model compression and inference acceleration, which are considered bottlenecks in the Korean AI industry, and propose ways to enhance the efficiency of Korean AI models to match those of the U.S. and China. Following this, Joo Young-pyo from SK Hynix will speak on "Building an AI Supply Chain Hub Through Semiconductor Superiority."
On the second day, September 3, Joo Si-hyun, executive director of robotics intelligence development at Hyundai Motor Company, will open the day with a talk on "K-Physical AI Heading to Global Markets." A special event combining a lecture and discussion on "The Success or Failure of Combining Manufacturing and Physical AI" will also take place, featuring Choi Jae-sik, a KAIST professor and CEO of InEasy, who will discuss regulatory innovations needed for the development of the physical AI industry with representatives from major domestic physical AI companies and startups.
In a special lecture, Kim Soo-yeon, head of the EY AI Center, will share insights on the current state of AI agents in China and benchmark strategies, comparing and analyzing them with Korea. In the afternoon, experts from companies like SK Telecom and HD Hyundai Electric will explore the potential for developing AI data center businesses under the theme "AI Factory: The Vanguard of Token Economy."
The 2026 GGGF forum will be broadcast both offline and online via YouTube. The forum invites participation from businesses, academia, and the general public interested in the event.
■ Date: September 2 (Wednesday) to 4 (Friday)
■ Location: Grand Ballroom, Plaza Hotel, Seoul, and National Assembly Member's Hall
■ Inquiries: Forum Secretariat
■ Hosted by: Aju News Corporation (Aju Economic Daily), Global Economic and Financial Research Institute (GEFRI)
* This article has been translated by AI.
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