Suseong Alphacity, a new town in Suseong District, Daegu, has been designated as the nation’s first “specialized smart city zone,” emerging as a national hub for demonstrating and commercializing artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, and future mobility technologies. Suseong Alphacity, which had previously served mainly as a corporate cluster, has now laid the groundwork to leap forward as a core platform in a smart industrial ecosystem that connects new technology development, demonstration, commercialization, and investment attraction.

Daegu City announced on the 2nd that the Suseong Alphacity area has been designated and officially notified by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport as the first specialized smart city zone in the country. The city plans to invest KRW 16.8 billion in project costs by 2027 to create the specialized zone, focusing on mobility and robotics, as well as intelligent control and safety, on a site of more than 4,826,000 m2 in Gosan 2-dong, Suseong District.

The area will also be equipped with advanced demonstration infrastructure such as 5th generation (5G) and satellite communication-based ultra-high-speed networks, a data hub, and AI computing resources. Based on this, the city plans to pilot smart city services that citizens can directly experience, including administrative support services using domestically developed on-device AI (embedded within devices), smart control of closed-circuit (CC) TV, and robotic guidance services.

The core elements in particular are regulatory easing and support for corporate growth. By actively utilizing regulatory exceptions under the Smart City Act and the regulatory sandbox, the city will support companies in testing new technologies and commercializing them in real urban spaces. It will also establish an integrated growth support system that links technology development, demonstration, commercialization, and investment attraction.

The city’s strategy is to maximize synergy by linking this designation with key regional initiatives such as the Regional Hub AX (AI Transformation) Innovation Technology Development Project, the Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST) Global Campus, the AI Robot Global Innovation Special Zone, and the National Robot Test Field. In particular, leveraging Suseong Alphacity’s strengths—its information and communications technology (ICT) and software companies, research institutions, and universities—the city aims to drive corporate attraction and increased investment, technology commercialization, and the creation of quality jobs.

Jung Eui-gwan, Director-General of the Future Innovation and Growth Office of Daegu City, said, “This designation will serve as a catalyst for shifting the regional industrial structure toward AI-centered industries,” adding, “As an environment is created in which the entire city can be used as a vast laboratory and market, a virtuous cycle is expected to emerge in which companies enhance their technological competitiveness while citizens experience cutting-edge services in their daily lives.”

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