Jungwoo Ha: "AI Competitiveness Lies in Memory, Data, and Power"...Proposes Jeonnam-Gwangju as Semiconductor Hub

Special Lecture on AI Semiconductors Held at GIST

“Semiconductors Are National Strategic Assets”

Connecting Gwangju’s AI and Mobility with South Jeolla’s Energy and Industrial Automation

Memory, data, and electricity were highlighted as key resources that will determine the outcome of artificial intelligence (AI) competition. There was also a proposal to connect Gwangju's AI and mobility infrastructure with South Jeolla Province's energy and industrial automation capabilities to establish Jeonnam-Gwangju as a hub for AI semiconductors.

The AI Industry Convergence Project Group (AICA) held a special lecture on the 28th at the Oryong Hall of the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), inviting Jungwoo Ha, former Chief AI Future Planning Officer at the Blue House, to speak on the topic "The Age of AI Semiconductors - What is the Direction for Gwangju Metropolitan City?"

Former Chief Ha discussed AI technology trends, the semiconductor market, sovereign AI, and industry strategies for Gwangju and Jeonnam, under the theme "AI Semiconductors and Gwangju's Strategy to Realize an Irreplaceable Korea."

On the 28th, at the Oryong Hall of Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), former Blue House AI Future Planning Chief Jaung Woo Ha gave a keynote lecture on the topic of "AI Semiconductors and Gwangju's Strategy to Realize an Irreplaceable Republic of Korea" during the special AI semiconductor lecture series. Provided by the AI Industry Convergence Project Group

He diagnosed that generative AI is evolving beyond simply answering questions and is becoming "Agentic AI," capable of understanding objectives, making plans, and carrying out tasks autonomously. He also pointed out the potential for the spread of "Physical AI," where AI operates directly in the real world through robots, autonomous vehicles, and similar applications.

He named memory, data, and electricity as the core resources that determine AI competitiveness. As AI models increase in scale and performance, high-performance memory, differentiated data, and stable power supply become more important. He argued that AI semiconductors should be treated as a national strategic asset rather than just another industry subject to economic cycles.

He suggested that the role of data centers is also changing. In the era of generative AI, data centers are transforming from facilities that simply aggregate servers to becoming "AI factories" or "token factories" that actually produce intelligence.

Accordingly, he predicted the importance of semiconductors essential for AI computation, such as high bandwidth memory (HBM), advanced packaging, graphics processing units (GPUs), and neural processing units (NPUs), will continue to grow.

As a national strategy to respond to the AI power struggle, he presented the concept of "sovereign AI."

Former Chief Ha stated, "Sovereign AI is not about isolation, but a national strategy that involves building independent capabilities to design and operate the entire AI ecosystem, while proactively leveraging global cooperation."

He also proposed ways to connect semiconductors, AI data centers, and physical AI. In this structure, semiconductors provide the computational foundation, data centers generate intelligence, and these are then applied in robotics, autonomous driving, and manufacturing environments.

At the regional level, he suggested bundling Jeonnam and Gwangju into a single AI industrial zone, an "AI Semiconductor Mega Cluster." The idea is to link Gwangju's national AI data center, AI convergence complex, and automotive and mobility industries with South Jeolla's energy and industrial automation capabilities, covering the full spectrum from semiconductor design to computing, demonstration, and industrial application.

He also touched on entering the global AI supply chain by connecting Gwangju's AI, semiconductor, and mobility industries with South Jeolla's energy sector and Goheung's space industry.

With regard to talent development, he emphasized that it should go beyond simply teaching AI utilization. Former Chief Ha stated, "As AI replaces repetitive work, humans will increasingly need to focus on higher-level roles such as problem definition, design, and decision-making." He added, "We need to foster talent equipped with domain expertise, critical thinking, the ability to define problems, and a foundation in the humanities."

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