Recruitment of Two Metropolitan Governments for the "Region-Led AI Great Transformation" Project

Support for AI Solution Development and Dissemination,
Infrastructure Building,
and AI Talent Development

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Korea SMEs and Startups Agency announced on February 4 that they are recruiting new metropolitan governments to participate in 2026 in the “Region-Led AI Great Transformation” project, which is being promoted to expand the use of artificial intelligence (AI) by regional SMEs and venture companies and to narrow AI gaps between regions.

Despite the recent spread of AI technology, the utilization of AI by SMEs remains lower than that of large corporations, and there is also a significant gap in utilization between the Seoul metropolitan area and non-metropolitan regions. According to 2024 data released by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade, the AI utilization rate in the Seoul metropolitan area stands at 40.4%, while it is only 17.9% in non-metropolitan areas. In particular, regional SMEs are facing difficulties such as a lack of AI professionals and infrastructure, making it necessary to implement policy responses that reflect regional conditions and industrial characteristics.

This project aims to facilitate the rapid AI transformation of regional SMEs that have limited capacity to introduce AI, by allowing metropolitan governments to lead AI utilization and dissemination programs tailored to regional industrial characteristics and demand. To this end, five metropolitan governments (Gyeongnam, Daegu, Ulsan, Jeonnam, and Jeju) were selected in 2025 and are currently promoting regional AI transformation, and two additional regions are scheduled to be newly selected this year.

A total of 14 billion won in national funding will be invested in the metropolitan governments newly selected for 2026, providing support of an average of 7 billion won per region. The total project budget will be composed of national funding, local government funding, and self-contributions in a 6-to-4 ratio, and local government funding must account for at least 20% of the total project budget.

Metropolitan governments wishing to participate in the project may freely design and apply for various programs to promote AI utilization and dissemination among regional SMEs and others, including the development and distribution of AI solutions, the establishment of AI utilization infrastructure, and AI talent development. The submitted project plans will be comprehensively evaluated in terms of implementation capacity and expertise, feasibility, and reflection of regional industrial characteristics, and two outstanding metropolitan governments will be selected as final participants.

Park Yongsoon, policy chief for SME policy at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, said, "AI is not just about adopting technology; it is a key factor that will fundamentally enhance the competitiveness of regional industries and SMEs and improve the sustainability of regional economies," adding, "Through the Region-Led AI Great Transformation project, we will accelerate the AI transformation of regional SMEs and support the creation of an autonomous AI ecosystem in which regions can grow on their own."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.