A major AI transformation initiative, the Pohang Smart Green AI Transformation (AX) Pilot Industrial Complex, is launching across the Pohang Steel Industrial Complex in North Gyeongsang Province to boost efficiency, productivity, and AI adoption among small and mid-sized manufacturers.

RIST (Research Institute of Industrial Science and Technology) is leading the effort, with a total funding of 23.5 billion won from central and local governments over four years (2026 to 2029) to support the program.

Lead AI model development for steel production will be driven by Dongkuk Steel and Jeil Technos, with a medium- to long-term plan to propagate these models to other firms within the complex.

Lee Kwan-hee, head of RIST's K-Steel Innovation Research Institute, says the goal is to unite industry, academia, research institutes, and government to create an AI innovation model tailored for the steel sector and to position Pohang as a national model for manufacturing AX.

The initiative brings together 15 participating institutions, including steelmakers Dongkuk Steel and Jeil Technos, universities such as POSTECH and Seoul National University, and AI/IT firms like Konan Technology and CodeVision, in collaboration with Pohang city, Korea Industrial Complex Corporation, Pohang Technopark, and Korea Institute of Industrial Technology.

The project will connect to an existing digitally based resource-circulation pilot to promote recycling of byproducts and build an environmentally friendly industrial ecosystem while boosting production efficiency.

Aims include establishing a joint AI adoption support system for smaller companies, creating an AX comprehensive support center, and setting up a convergence test bed to verify AI implementations on shop floors before broader deployment.