Seoul Metropolitan Government is shifting the center of its research and development (R&D) support toward artificial intelligence (AI) and overhauling its support framework. The city plans to move away from the previous approach that focused only on individual technology development and instead establish a structure that connects R&D, demonstration, certification, commercialization, and investment in a single continuum. The strategy aims to reorganize Seoul’s overall industrial landscape around AI.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that it will inject KRW 42.5 billion into the “Seoul-type R&D Support Program” in 2026 to select 195 projects. More than half of these will be in AI and AI convergence technologies. The budget for the AI sector is KRW 7 billion, an increase of KRW 2 billion from the previous year, and is the largest scale in the past five years. The support structure has been redesigned to combine AI with existing strategic industries such as bio, robotics, fintech, and content.

From this year, the project selection method will also change. By introducing an “integrated selection system,” even high-scoring projects that previously failed due to limits on the number of projects or budget caps by sector can be re-evaluated and selected if they have technological strength and business potential. This revises the existing R&D structure in which administrative criteria took precedence over technological maturity.

Support for demonstration will also be significantly strengthened. The Seoul Metropolitan Government has allocated KRW 18.8 billion to AI convergence technologies and KRW 12 billion to demonstration and technologies supporting vulnerable groups. In particular, it will establish a dedicated demonstration center, “Testbed Seoul,” to allow companies to test their technologies in spaces directly operated by the city. The plan is to connect technologies that have remained in laboratories to real services and subsequently link them to overseas demonstration networks, leading to entry into global markets.

Support linked with private investment will also be expanded. Representative examples include an R&D program conducted jointly with the Korea Technology Finance Corporation and “Private Investment-Linked R&D (Seoul-type TIPS),” which focuses support on projects that have received investments of KRW 1 billion or more or have confirmed investment commitments. The intention is to reduce cases where commercialization fails due to a lack of funding after the R&D phase. The city will also promote institutional improvements to ease corporate burdens, such as broadening the allowable scope of personnel expenses for research staff and lowering the burden of technology fees.

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