Lee Min-hyung joined The Korea Times in 2014 and has worked as a journalist mainly in Korea’s finance, tech and automotive industry. He specializes in content creation, breaking news and in-depth analysis currently on transportation and mobility. You can reach him via mhlee@koreatimes.co.kr.
Feasibility of mobility, AI election pledges remains questionable
Minor opposition Rebuilding Korea Party leader Cho Kuk, who is running for a parliamentary seat in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, campaigns near a traditional market in the city, Monday. Yonhap
By Lee Min-hyung
Global trade uncertainty makes private sector less active in domestic investment
Candidates for the upcoming by-elections are presenting what industry officials describe as “unrealistic and impractical” campaign pledges, particularly in the trendy tech areas of future mobility and artificial intelligence (AI).
With Wednesday's elections drawing near, a number of candidates are promising to transform regional economies into hubs for autonomous vehicles, next-generation mobility and AI.
This is sparking concerns that the much-hyped visions will ultimately not be realized, as the pattern has repeated during each election cycle with only a few similar pledges having materialized.
Minor opposition Rebuilding Korea Party leader Cho Kuk, who is running for a parliamentary seat in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, has unveiled a sweeping proposal to build an AI semiconductor-powered automated port logistics system there, which will be complemented by autonomous vehicle testing infrastructure and smart factory demonstration facilities.
He envisions what he calls a "one-stop AI ecosystem," citing Pyeongtaek's unique concentration of semiconductor, automotive and logistics industries — home to major manufacturing hubs of Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Mobis and KG Mobility.
"AI is now evolving into physical AI, directly interfacing with the real world through smart factories, autonomous vehicles and robotics," Cho said, pledging to relocate government-backed manufacturing AI data centers and physical AI expansion hubs to the city.
Industry officials, however, remain unconvinced.
"Given persistent external trade risks, it is genuinely difficult for companies to meet all of the government's investment demands in Korea," an official from the auto industry said. "Large-scale factory attraction and advanced mobility infrastructure investment have been perennial campaign promises. In practice, very few have ever been delivered as planned."
Daegu mayoral candidate Choo Kyung-ho from the main opposition People Power Party, speaks during a campaign event in the southeastern city, Monday. Yonhap
Choo Kyung-ho, Daegu mayoral candidate for the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), has put forward an equally contested pledge: luring Tesla's second Asian gigafactory to the city, with a goal of cultivating Daegu into a new auto production hub with a capacity of more than 200,000 vehicles annually.
However, the prospect of Tesla establishing a major Asian production base in the Korean city appears slim. Efforts to attract the company began under the former President Yoon Suk Yeol administration.
The chances of Korea attracting the Tesla factory have been stymied by escalating concerns over domestic labor union risks and weakening global demand for Tesla electric vehicles.
The global AI frenzy is also triggering reckless populism across the political circle.
In Ulsan, PPP mayoral candidate Kim Doo-gyeom has promised to turn the city into an "AI capital," anchored by an expanded SK-Amazon Web Services data center, a sweeping AI transformation of legacy manufacturing industries and the creation of a sovereign AI industrial complex.
Former President Park Geun-hye, left, greets citizens by accompanying People Power Party's Ulsan mayoral candidate Kim Doo-gyeom, right, in the city, Wednesday. Yonhap
Kim Sang-wook, Ulsan mayoral candidate for the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), is also underscoring the need for the city to push for AI-driven industrial transformation.
The DPK’s Daegu mayoral candidate Kim Boo-kyum has similarly vowed to remake the city into an "AI and robotics capital."
Industry officials echoed a similar caution that the construction of large-scale AI data centers demands enormous upfront investment in power infrastructure and grid capacity — prerequisites that cannot be conjured by political will alone.
"What we are witnessing is a proliferation of populist pledges driven by blind AI optimism," a tech industry official said.
“Korea has a well-documented history of technology campaign promises that fade quietly after Election Day. Unless candidates pair their visions with credible financing mechanisms, regulatory pathways and private sector commitments, such pledges cannot turn into a reality on time.”