- Meeting with startups participating in CES 2026 on the 5th to discuss technology commercialization and growth support measures - MOLIT to strengthen support for each stage of growth, from research and development (R&D) to verification and commercialization □ The government will strengthen support for the technologies of land, infrastructure, and transport startups recognized for their competitiveness on the global stage so that they can be translated into actual businesses and services. □ The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport (Minister Kim Yoon-deok) held a meeting* with domestic startups participating in 'CES 2' at the Pangyo Global Biz Center on the morning of February 5th, and discussed the [...]

- Renovation of an aging guesthouse opens the door to urban regeneration for both travelers and local residents. - A grand reopening ceremony held on February 4th, ahead of the official opening in March. "Ibagu Camp," a landmark scenic spot along Busan's Sanbok Road, will reopen after renovations. The government and private sector are working together to improve the aging guesthouse, providing travelers to Busan with more comfortable accommodations and providing local residents with a recurring urban regeneration hub. [...]

- Announcements for the Smart City Regulatory Sandbox in the administrative, health, medical, and welfare sectors will begin on the 2nd. - Up to KRW 500 million per project will be provided for demonstration projects over a 4+2-year period. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport (Minister Kim Yoon-duk) is promoting a call for proposals for the Smart City Regulatory Sandbox demonstration projects, which support the deregulation and resolution of regulations for smart city technologies and services. Following last year, this year's call for proposals will focus on innovative technologies and services expected to be highly impactful to the public, including ① administration, ② health, medical, and welfare, and ③ other sectors. Announcements will begin on February 2nd, with applications due to close on February 25th.

- "K-City Network" Competition Opens January 28th… Strengthening Demonstration of AI-Based Convergence Solutions □ To support the overseas expansion of domestic smart city technologies, the government will launch a competition this year for the "K-City Network Global Cooperation Project*" (hereinafter referred to as the "K-City Network"). Through this project, companies will have the opportunity to directly demonstrate their technologies in overseas cities, validate business models tailored to local conditions, and ultimately secure contracts and commercialize them. * K-City [...]

◈ January 1.23, 13:30 Busan City Hotel to host "2026 Busan-type Anchor Company Development Support Project Briefing Session and Busan AI Transformation Forum - Manucon AX"… Established to share key agendas for the regional manufacturing AI transformation ◈ ▲ Busan-type Anchor Company Development Support Project Briefing Session ▲ Manucon Project Overview and Company Recruitment Guide ▲ Panel Discussion with Industry, Academia, Research, and Government Experts ◈ The city will continue to work with companies to realize the benefits of the Manucon Project [...]

○ 2025 AI Challenge Program Results Sharing Session held. Three projects completed by Bucheon, Gwangju, and the Fire Department. - Bucheon City: Introduction of welfare projects utilizing AI Welfare Call. Average increase in welfare applications by 1,000. - Gwangju City: AI-powered civil complaints such as illegal parking are received. An AI audit review service has also been developed and utilized. - Gyeonggi Fire and Disaster Management: AI voice recognition converts reports to text and provides interpretation support for foreign reporters. ○ The province implemented five tangible measures, including safety and welfare [...]

- Responding to last year's DeepSearch wave, 'AI SEOUL' presented the vision of 'Seoul, a leading global AI city' - Strengthening the investment base with AI talent development, high-performance GPU support, and the Vision 2030 fund - Launch of the 'Industry AX Innovation Center'... Seoul-style implementation system from verification to expansion in full swing - 'Seoul-style Physical AI Belt' connecting Yangjae and Suseo to promote verification, regulatory improvement, and advancement of the industrial ecosystem - 'Physical AI-friendly city' vision unveiled at 'AI SEOUL 2026' on the 30th... Discussion on the next steps in AI transition [...]

- Support window (support desk) will be operated from Thursday, January 22 to provide close support to companies, including legal consultation (consulting) and technical advice - Vice Minister Ryu Je-myeong unveils signboard for support window (support desk) under the Framework Act on Artificial Intelligence and inspects operational status The Ministry of Science and ICT (Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of MSIT Bae Kyung-hoon, hereinafter referred to as 'MSIT') will operate the 'Artificial Intelligence [...]' to support companies' legal consultation (consulting) and technical advice, etc., as the 'Framework Act on Artificial Intelligence' (hereinafter referred to as the 'Framework Act on Artificial Intelligence') goes into effect on Thursday, January 22.

- Mobile Disability Registration Card Issuance Begins January 22nd - - Gradually Expanded to Financial Transaction Identification from February - The Ministry of Health & Welfare (Minister Jeong Eun-kyeong) announced on January 22nd that it will begin issuing mobile disability registration cards. The mobile disability registration card is an ID card that can be stored in a smartphone app and then accessed when needed to verify disability status. Individuals with disabilities who have already received a plastic disability registration card (hereinafter referred to as the "physical disability registration card") can apply for the mobile disability registration card as an additional application, and issuance is free. [...]

【Related National Tasks】 31. Realizing Future Mobility and the "K-AI City" - MOLIT Announces "Autonomous Driving Demonstration City Promotion Plan," Opens Roads to Commutes and Residential Areas, Opens Applications for Participating Companies from Early February to Early March, Selected Companies in April □ The entire Gwangju Metropolitan City will be utilized as a self-driving vehicle demonstration space. The government has designated an entire city as a self-driving demonstration city, the first of its kind in Korea, to simultaneously pursue the development of autonomous driving AI technology and the commercialization of services on roads actually used by citizens. [...]

【Related National Tasks】 31-7. Realizing Future Mobility and "K-AI City" – Digital Twin National Territory DX‧AX Innovation - V-World's Stage 4 Advanced Service Launches on the 19th… Commercial Area Analysis Possible Without Professional Consulting <Key Features of V-World's Stage 4 Advanced Service> ㅇ (Professional Spatial Analysis) Mr. A, who is preparing to start a franchise business, utilizes V-World's "analysis function" to analyze commercial areas, including population density by region and distance between similar stores, without the help of a professional consulting firm. [...]

- Opening of the 134.81㎡ Innovation Center G-SMART HUB on the 28th floor of Building B of the Gwangmyeong International Design Cluster (GIDC, 43 Iljik-ro) in Iljik-dong on the 14th - Citizen participation and collaboration between the government, industry, and academia... Serves as a key base for realizing a 'carbon-neutral smart city' - Operates citizen and corporate education and employment/startup linkage programs based on smart technology, and conducts basic research on carbon neutrality - Mayor Park Seung-won said, "We will create a sustainable city where smart city technology takes root in the region and improves the lives of citizens." Gwangmyeong City (Mayor [...]

- Realizing an inclusive city with smart welfare hub senior centers and small-scale smart cities - Suncheon City announced that it will actively pursue the development of a "Suncheon-type smart city" in 2026. The "Suncheon-type smart city" aims for digital-based social innovation, and its core tasks are the construction of senior-friendly smart senior centers and the development of regionally tailored small-scale smart cities. The senior-friendly smart senior center construction project is a key smart project of Suncheon City's age-friendly city strategy to respond to demographic changes such as the entry into a super-aging society and the increase in the number of single-person elderly people. The main content of this project is to utilize information and communication technology (ICT) to transform existing senior centers into smart spaces closely related to daily life, equipped with health management, leisure, and communication functions. Specifically, the plan is to reconstruct senior centers as regional smart welfare hubs, focusing on three areas: △smart safety and security solutions, △non-face-to-face leisure and welfare services, and △smart health management services. Furthermore, the city plans to respond to the rapidly changing urban environment, such as the climate crisis and regional extinction, through the development of a small and medium-sized smart city project. By introducing core smart solutions tailored to the city's characteristics, the city plans to build a sustainable and competitive urban foundation. In particular, the city plans to implement the project in stages by increasing citizen participation and reflecting feedback through citizen-participatory living labs, such as a smart city testbed utilizing mobile caravans. The city expects that by developing a "Suncheon-type smart city," it will promote the health and social participation of seniors and enhance the efficiency and stability of urban operations. This will help Suncheon become an inclusive smart city without a digital divide and a leading carbon-neutral city in Korea. A city official stated, "We will closely examine the needs of our citizens and prepare for Suncheon's future with a smart city strategy that reflects these needs." Source: Suncheon City 

- Attending CES 2026 from the 6th to confirm the achievements of land, infrastructure, and transportation technology… Also holding a meeting with participating companies - Visiting Google Waymo to discuss the operation strategy of the autonomous driving demonstration city scheduled for full-scale implementation this year □ Minister of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport Kim Yoon-deok attended the '2026 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES)' held in Las Vegas, USA from Tuesday, January 6th to Wednesday, January 7th (local time, Wednesday, January 7th to Thursday, January 8th in Korea). * (Date/Location) Tuesday, January 6th to Friday, January 9th / Las Vegas, USA (Hosted by) Consumer Technology Association (CTA) [...]

Establishing Four Core Strategies… Focusing on Capabilities to Leap Forward as a Leading AI City Ulsan City is proactively responding to the rapidly changing digital environment and focusing its administrative capabilities on establishing an AI industry strategy and implementing a city-wide AI transformation to realize the "AI Capital of Ulsan." Ulsan City will: ▲ Establish core infrastructure for an AI capital ▲ Strengthen manufacturing industry competitiveness by promoting AI tailored to local industries ▲ Expand citizen-focused intelligent (smart) city services ▲ Strengthen AI and data sharing and utilization infrastructure [...]

- Full-scale digital transformation based on AI, cloud, and digital twins to be implemented in 2026 - - Expanding services visibly to residents and accelerating the establishment of a future new industry ecosystem - □Jeju Special Self-Governing Province announced plans to invest a total of KRW 1,015 billion in information technology projects in 2026 to spread cutting-edge digital technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), cloud, and digital twins across administration, industry, and daily life, and to fully implement AI and digital innovations that residents can feel. □2025 is the year of implementation of the 'AI Digital Transformation Roadmap' [...]

- Establishing a way for single-room apartments in residential accommodation facilities to be shared and providing life-oriented safety services - □ The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport (Minister Kim Yoon-deok) granted regulatory exceptions to two smart city services that had been difficult to verify due to regulations at the 31st National Smart City Committee* held on January 2nd. The main contents are as follows. * In accordance with Article 23 of the 「Smart City Act」, it is an organization to deliberate and decide on regulatory sandbox verification exceptions, etc., and is composed of 10 government members, 15 private sector members, a total of 25 members (Chairperson: Minister of MOLIT and private sector members jointly) [...]

【Related National Tasks】 31. Realizing Future Mobility and 'K-AI City' - Attending the Groundbreaking Ceremony for an Eco-Friendly Ammonia Plant and Discussing Cooperation in Policy Finance and MDBs - Attending CES 2026 to Review Trends in New Technologies, such as AI and Autonomous Driving □ The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport (Minister Kim Yoon-duk) dispatched a US order support team led by Minister Kim Yoon-duk to Washington, D.C. from Monday, January 5 to Friday, January 9 (local time) to support Korean companies in securing infrastructure projects and attend CES 2026 to discuss ways to utilize AI and ICT technologies in the land, infrastructure, and transportation industries. [...]

【Related National Policy Tasks】 57. Expansion of Transportation Innovation Infrastructure: Expanding Demand-Responsive Transit (DRT), which allows users to ride whenever and wherever they want, to address transportation disadvantages in underserved areas - Practical guidelines to support the policy capacity of local governments unfamiliar with DRT - Detailed information on basic concepts, related systems, introduction and operation procedures, and operational cases □ The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport (Minister Kim Yoon-deok) stated that local governments should expand DRT to areas where transportation services are declining due to population decline and aging, such as a reduction in regular bus routes, or where transportation systems are not yet in place, such as new towns in the early stages of settlement [...]