Busan is good

Busan Metropolitan City Selected for the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s Smart City Specialized Complex Development Project Competition, Secures KRW 8 Billion in National Funding

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Busan Metropolitan City (Mayor Park Heong-joon) announced that it has been selected as a final winner in the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s 2026 Smart City Specialized Complex Development Project competition.

This project combines smart infrastructure and corporate support functions within urban spaces to help private companies demonstrate and commercialize technologies in real-world city environments. Two local governments nationwide, including Busan, were selected for the project.

Through this initiative, Busan Metropolitan City plans to invest a total of KRW 16.8 billion (KRW 8 billion in national funding, KRW 8 billion in municipal funding, and KRW 800 million in private investment) from this year through 2028 to establish an “Intelligent Control & Safety” smart city specialized complex in the Centum City area (1,202,100㎡) under the vision “AX Era, AX-Ready: Centum.”

Centum City is Busan’s leading mixed-use urban district, where the city’s digital industry capabilities are concentrated alongside MICE, cultural, commercial, and tourism functions. It offers optimal conditions for the development, demonstration, verification, commercialization, and expansion of AI-based urban operation technologies in a real urban environment.

The project will be led by Busan Metropolitan City, while the Busan IT Industry Promotion Agency will oversee project management and operate the AI Industry Innovation Support Center.

Private-sector participants, including Dtonic Co., Ltd., Smart Planning Co., Ltd., Donglim T&S Co., Ltd., BSN Systems Co., Ltd., and Shemos Lab Co., Ltd., will also take part in establishing implementation and execution plans, building demonstration infrastructure, developing AI platforms, conducting data modeling, and operating living labs.

Through the development of the Centum City specialized complex, Busan Metropolitan City plans to advance demonstration infrastructure for AI companies and establish a comprehensive support system that spans the entire process from technology development to commercialization, thereby encouraging the attraction of high-quality companies.

The city also intends to foster Busan as a hub for the AI-based smart city industrial ecosystem by expanding validated technologies and services to other local governments and supporting their entry into overseas cities.

To achieve this, Busan Metropolitan City will build AI-based control and safety demonstration infrastructure utilizing urban data and establish a demonstration-oriented AI urban operation system led by the local government.

In addition, the city will actively support technology demonstration and commercialization through initiatives such as technology commercialization (R&BD) matching programs, commercialization vouchers, support for AI model training using GPU-based high-performance computing resources, linkage with the Korea Laboratory Accreditation Scheme (KOLAS), living lab operations, regulatory sandbox consulting, and participation in domestic and international exhibitions.

Mayor Park Heong-joon stated, “We will develop Centum City into a leading demonstration hub where AI companies can verify technologies and grow within a real urban environment. We will also make every effort to establish a foundation for the nationwide expansion and global advancement of the Busan-style smart city model.”