The Seoul Digital Foundation has changed its name to the Seoul AI Foundation and has been newly launched as the organization responsible for overseeing Seoul’s artificial intelligence (AI) policy.
On the afternoon of the 21st, the Seoul AI Foundation held its inauguration ceremony at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Jung-gu, Seoul. This launch follows an amendment to the municipal ordinance to realign the foundation’s name and business purpose to focus on AI.
The Seoul Metropolitan Council approved the related ordinance amendment at the 330th temporary session, and the ordinance was promulgated on the 19th and came into effect. With the revised ordinance, the foundation’s name was changed to the Seoul AI Foundation, and its business purpose was focused on the utilization and dissemination of AI technology.
Established in 2016, the foundation has been promoting various digital policies such as the creation of smart cities, the spread of digital technology, and data-based administrative improvement. With the increasing application of AI technology in administration and daily life, the foundation has transitioned its role to focus on AI.
In the future, the foundation will pursue projects such as global cooperation for solving urban problems, application of AI technology based on physical space, public service innovation that citizens can experience, fair dissemination of AI technology, and collaboration projects to apply AI across industries.
The global cooperation strategy includes forming a network with domestic and foreign universities, companies, city governments, and citizens to develop city AI solutions tailored to Seoul. The foundation also plans to strengthen cooperation with overseas research institutions such as the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI) and Cambridge.
The public service innovation strategy focuses on expanding services that can be experienced in citizens’ daily lives based on research, consulting, and education conducted by the foundation. The ethical AI strategy encourages the responsible use of AI technology through research, education, and campaigns. The industrial cooperation strategy explores AI applications across various industrial fields in collaboration with companies and research institutions.
The inauguration ceremony was attended by Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, AI company officials, representatives from nationwide local governments, and related organizations. Mayor Oh stated, “The launch of the Seoul AI Foundation is a declaration to adopt AI as Seoul’s future strategy.”
Following the inauguration ceremony, the ‘AI Administrative Innovation Forum’ was attended by about 300 representatives from nationwide local governments, companies, and universities. LG AI Research Center’s Division Head Kim Yu-cheol gave a presentation on ‘Agent AI, the Beginning of a New AI Ecosystem.’
Kim Suk-hee, the head of the Seoul Digital Policy Division, introduced ‘Seoul’s AI Innovation Strategy,’ and Ju Seong-hwan, the head of the Seoul AI Foundation, presented strategies for local governments to introduce and utilize AI. Gyeonggi Research Institute’s Center Director Kim Seong-ha and Gwangju’s AI Industry Convergence Project Group’s Director Kang Jae-hyuk also shared regional-centric AI strategies.
Moving forward, Seoul AI Foundation plans to prioritize AI infrastructure development, strengthen global research and industry cooperation, and spread citizen-centric services as key tasks. Existing projects like Smart Life Week (SLW), AI consulting, and the On-site Support Group will also be continuously expanded.