Korea to foster AI-led manufacturing to boost productivity
Manufacturing sectors in the country will begin a transformation by deploying artificial intelligence (AI) technologies around assembly lines in production plants as the government is seeking to resolve a chronic worker shortage problem, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Wednesday.
The ministry will start designing a master plan for AI autonomous manufacturing in the carmaking and shipbuilding sectors, the country’s key industries, in the first half of this year. It will launch test projects in different regions nationwide within this year, together with the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, before extending the new method to other sectors.
The change, the ministry said, requires private investments worth a total of 150 trillion won ($113 billion), including foreign investments. To attract the money, the authority said it will roll out a state fund of 14.7 trillion won this year to streamline relevant policies, extend tax exemption incentives and shut down “killer regulations” that hamper investments into future industries.
To spur research and development for cutting-edge technologies, the ministry said it will allow private firms to lead R&D to maximize their performances and achievements. It will also designate the top 40 projects in rising industries where global companies are competing neck-andneck and infuse 70 percent or more of the research budgets for the country’s local firms.
The announcement came as Industry Minister Ahn Duk-geun on Tuesday unveiled this year’s goal to reach $700 billion in exports, to beat the current record of $683.6 billion from 2022. The ministry also aims to attract $35 billion in foreign investments and private firms’ investments of 150 trillion won for local industries.
To reach its goal, the ministry said it will expand the country’s free trade network from markets representing 85 percent of global gross domestic product (GDP) at present — the world’s second-biggest size, according to the ministry — to 90 percent.
To stabilize supply chains for rechargeable battery makers and other local industries in need of critical items from outside the country, the ministry said it will proceed with realizing the national plan to reduce dependence on certain countries for imports. By pushing the ministry’s “Industry Supply Chain 3050” pronounced last December, the country will lower the level of reliance on importing lithium and rare earth minerals from 70 percent in 2022 to 50 percent or lower by 2030.
Monitoring the global market, the ministry said that it will select 10 top-priority markets and 30 most popular products to narrow the government’s scope of support and maximize exports by local private firms.
Reaching carbon neutrality by 2050 is another national commitment that will see progress this year. A key step is shifting the country’s overall power grid to carbon-free energy (CFE), an initiative being pushed by the ministry’s Carbon Free Alliance to enhance participation by global firms. The ministry said it will focus on drawing global interest in the alliance and gathering support for CFE, which purportedly approves nuclear power as well as renewable energy resources and hydrogen.