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Busan Metropolitan City Steps Up Efforts to Build a Southeastern Growth Engine Hub as Pusan National University Is Selected for the Growth Engine and AI Package Support Program

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□ Busan Metropolitan City, led by Mayor Chun Jae-soo, announced today, September 1, that Pusan National University has been selected as a final recipient of the Ministry of Education’s “Growth Engine and AI Package Support Program for Flagship National Universities.”

○ The program is a key initiative of the national balanced development policy and the “National Spatial Transformation” project. A government-wide implementation council chaired by the Prime Minister selected three flagship national universities to take the lead in fostering regional talent linked to growth engines.

○ As a result of the selection, Pusan National University will receive a total of 500 billion won in financial support over five years from 2026 through 2030, including approximately 290 billion won under the Growth Engine and AI Package Support Program for Flagship National Universities, as well as funding through the National University Development Project and the Anchor Project.

□ Busan Metropolitan City has worked closely with Pusan National University since the project planning stage and has provided extensive support for the successful implementation of the initiative, including the establishment of a governance framework and the development of strategies to foster growth engine industries.

○ On July 27, Busan Metropolitan City signed a “Memorandum of Understanding on Fostering Regional Talent Linked to Growth Engines and Promoting Balanced National Growth” with Ulsan, Gyeongsangnam-do and Pusan National University, establishing a supra-regional cooperation framework to cultivate regional talent aligned with growth engines in the southeastern region.

○ In particular, on August 12, Gyeongsangnam-do, Pusan National University, Hanwha Aerospace, Hanwha Ocean and Hanwha Engine signed a “Memorandum of Understanding on Fostering Regional Talent and Linking Talent Development with Employment in the Southeastern Region,” setting out concrete measures for cooperation to cultivate field-ready talent tailored to the needs of the region’s key industries, including shipbuilding and marine industries, aerospace and defense.

○ Busan Metropolitan City also actively participated in developing Pusan National University’s project plan for the package support program, pursuing practical cooperation by jointly discussing ways to align the initiative with regional industries and local government policies.

□ With this selection, Pusan National University plans to actively pursue a university innovation model integrating education, research and AI innovation with supra-regional cooperation, under the vision of becoming “a platform for implementing national spatial transformation by leading AX innovation in manufacturing and marine industries.”

○ In particular, the university will focus on cultivating outstanding talent to lead regional industries in four sectors selected on August 26 as growth engine industries for the Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam region: shipbuilding and shipping, innovative manufacturing for future mobility, aerospace and defense, and next-generation nuclear power and energy.

□ Busan Metropolitan City plans to use Pusan National University’s selection as an opportunity to further strengthen cooperation between the university and regional industries and will actively support efforts to ensure that the program’s outcomes spread throughout Busan’s industries and local communities.

○ The city will further advance its local government-industry-academia cooperation system by linking Pusan National University’s specialized fields with the region’s future growth industries, expanding cooperation with local companies and research institutions, and cultivating talent needed at industrial sites.

○ In particular, Busan Metropolitan City plans to strengthen administrative and policy support so that Pusan National University can serve as a key regional hub that cultivates outstanding local talent and connects the university’s education and research achievements with technological innovation and industrial growth among regional companies.

□ Mayor Chun Jae-soo said, “Pusan National University’s selection for the Growth Engine and AI Package Support Program for Flagship National Universities will not only raise the region’s competitiveness in education and research to a new level, but also provide an important opportunity to secure Busan’s future growth engines.”

He added, “Busan Metropolitan City will work closely with universities, businesses and innovation institutions and provide unwavering support and cooperation so that Pusan National University can grow into a leading regional innovation hub and the university’s innovation achievements can spread throughout regional industries and the broader community.”