Gyeongsangbuk-do announced that all five projects it applied for in the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy's AI Factory public contest have been selected, securing 33.32 billion won in national funds. The total project cost amounts to 49.07 billion won.

The AI Factory project aims to integrate AI-based robots and advanced equipment into manufacturing sites to enhance productivity and quality, thereby strengthening the competitiveness of manufacturing companies. The government has been pursuing this initiative since 2024 to secure leadership in the global Artificial Intelligence Transformation (AX) by fusing AI with domestic manufacturing.

The selected projects cover two in the automotive sector, one in textiles, and two in semiconductors. They will apply AI to automobile parts injection, painting, and press processes, a comprehensive textile process, optical module curing processes, and wafer manufacturing processes.

In the automotive sector, the project titled "Development of Multi-Process Data Convergence and AI Integrated Manufacturing System at the Factory Level" is led by Ecoplastic, with participation from the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology and the Korea Textile Machinery Convergence Research Institute. By 2028, a total of 5.96 billion won, including 3.78 billion won in national funds, will be invested to integrate five major processes for producing diverse automobile bumpers—injection, post-processing, painting, inspection, and logistics—into a single AI-controlled system.

Also in the automotive sector, the project titled "Development of Data Loop-Based Tandem Press Autonomous Mold Change and In-Line Fault Detection Integrated Control Technology" is led by Sewon Precision Industry (Sewonhwasan), with participation from the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology and the Gyeongbuk Technopark. By 2029, a total of 13.11 billion won, including 7.51 billion won in national funds, will be invested to automate mold changes in small-scale mold tandem press lines and develop AI predictive maintenance technology.

In the textile sector, the project titled "Development of AI Autonomous Control System for Mono-Fiber Comprehensive Process Intelligence" is led by ICNIT, with participation from Wintex and the Korea Textile Machinery Convergence Research Institute. By 2029, a total of 11.96 billion won, including 7.51 billion won in national funds, will be invested to promote data standardization, AI model development, and intelligent logistics automation.

In the semiconductor sector, the project titled "Development of Physical AI-Based Optical Module Curing Process Autonomous Manufacturing System" is led by Wizcore, with participation from the Gumi Electronics and Information Technology Research Institute and LG Innotek. By 2029, a total of 12.59 billion won, including 10.20 billion won in national funds, will be invested to unmanned the optical module manufacturing process and establish an AI system that preemptively detects and responds to facility abnormalities.

Also in the semiconductor sector, the project titled "Development of Generative AI-Based Integrated Work AI Solution for Wafer Manufacturing Process" is led by In이지 (Inegi), with participation from the Gumi Electronics and Information Technology Research Institute and KEC. By 2028, a total of 5.45 billion won, including 4.32 billion won in national funds, will be invested to develop a generative AI work integration solution that connects process, quality, equipment, logistics, and supply chain data into one.

This solution will feature production planning optimization, analysis of the root causes of process defects, automatic adjustment of equipment conditions, and automated wafer transport.

The province plans to continuously discover AI factory projects tailored to regional characteristics and expand the introduction of AI into key industries such as automobiles, defense, textiles, semiconductors, secondary batteries, steel, metals, food, and bio, thereby leading regional manufacturing innovation.

Yang Geum-hee, Vice Governor for Economic Affairs of Gyeongsangbuk-do, emphasized, "The AI factory is the best key to solving the challenges faced by manufacturing, such as a declining working population, stagnant productivity, and site safety issues," adding, "We will spare no administrative and financial support so that Gyeongbuk can lead the development and dissemination of AI in the manufacturing sector."

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