BUSAN — The Busan-Jinhae Free Economic Zone Authority is moving to drive productivity innovation using artificial intelligence, following growth in the number of tenant companies. The authority judged that applying AI to production and management sites is essential to translate gains in company numbers, investment and cargo volume into technological competitiveness.
The authority said on the 16th that it held a digital transformation growth briefing at Shilla Stay West Busan, attended by about 60 executives and employees from tenant companies. The session was designed to share AI transformation cases at manufacturers and the strategies large companies are pursuing, while exploring adoption challenges and implementation directions for individual firms.
In the first session, Kim Jin-yang, vice president of Komotech, a tenant company, presented a case study on building data infrastructure for the shift to autonomous manufacturing. He shared the process of laying a data foundation for applying AI on the factory floor, along with actual use cases. In the second session, Park Won, former head of the ADX division at Samsung Heavy Industries (010140.KS), presented large companies' AI transformation directions and application cases. The presentation covered technology applications in engineering, manufacturing and autonomous navigation, as well as plans to build an intelligent, autonomous smart shipyard.
The authority is working to strengthen companies' AI transformation capabilities because productivity innovation must match the scale of their growth. A survey based on 2024 figures found 2,442 businesses operating in the Busan-Jinhae Free Economic Zone, up 7.8% from a year earlier. That marked a fifth consecutive year of growth, but technological upgrades and improved operational efficiency are needed if an increase in company numbers is to translate into sustained competitiveness.
In manufacturing and logistics in particular, the AI shift can go beyond simple task automation to data-driven decision-making, process optimization and the creation of autonomous operating systems.
The authority plans to use the briefing to identify AI transformation needs among tenant companies and to build a phased support system tailored to each firm's circumstances. "We will support AI transformation and innovative growth so that tenant companies can respond preemptively to changes in the industrial environment and apply technological innovation on the ground," said Park Sung-ho, commissioner of the authority.