Daegu wins nation's first smart city specialized complex designation at Suseong Alpha City

Daegu announced Wednesday that it will move forward with developing a smart city specialized complex centered on the Suseong Alpha City area, after the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport designated the site as the nation's first such complex.

The city had been selected through a ministry competitive grant program in June 2025, then drew up an implementation plan through consultations with central government agencies and relevant bodies. The plan received final approval at the 34th National Smart City Committee — chaired by the minister of land, infrastructure and transport — on June 18.

Within the designated complex, the city plans to build advanced demonstration infrastructure including high-speed communications networks (5G and satellite), a data hub and AI computing resources. It will also pilot citizen-facing smart city services such as domestically developed on-device AI-based administrative support, smart CCTV monitoring and robot guide dogs.

The city also plans to make full use of regulatory exemptions and a regulatory sandbox under the Smart City Act — formally the Act on the Promotion of Smart Cities and Industries — to create an environment where companies can freely test and commercialize new technologies. A corporate growth support framework will be established to link companies through the full cycle from technology development and demonstration to commercialization and investment attraction.

Kim Yong-deok, chief executive of Arion, one of the companies participating in the complex development project, said the complex presents "a great opportunity to validate technology and build a business using data and AI infrastructure," adding that he expects it to "help strengthen our technological competitiveness and enter new markets."

Jeong Eui-gwan, head of Daegu's future innovation and growth office, said the smart city specialized complex "will become a new innovation platform that goes beyond technology demonstration to drive corporate growth and strengthen industrial competitiveness." He added that the city would do its utmost to establish Daegu as "the central city leading South Korea's smart city industrial ecosystem."