The South Korean government will begin procedures to select a site for a planned "Global AI Hub" it is pushing to open in 2027.

The Ministry of Science and ICT said on Tuesday that the support team for the Global AI Hub Promotion Committee will hold a "Global AI Hub site selection public hearing" at 10 a.m. on Oct. 14 at the international conference hall of the Government Sejong Convention Center.

The Global AI Hub is a multilateral cooperation base designed to bring together AI-related functions dispersed across international organisations in one place and, linked to multilateral development banks, spread outcomes to developing countries.

The government held a "Global AI Hub Vision Declaration" ceremony in May with nine international organisations including the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and five multilateral development banks including the World Bank (WB) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB). It issued a joint statement setting out the vision of "AI for all, AI for solving global challenges".

At the hub, staff seconded from international organisations will work with industry, academia and research institutions at home and abroad to support AI adoption in developing countries. It will carry out tasks including developing AI policies and standards, sharing AI resources such as data, models and demonstration cases, developing and spreading AI solutions to address global problems, and providing AI education and training.

The government said it discussed a basic plan for site selection on Sept. 21 at a Global AI Hub Promotion Committee chaired by the prime minister, with the goal of opening the hub in 2027. The public hearing will explain site selection criteria, the evaluation process and the future schedule. It will release a draft set of tender guidelines and hold a Q&A session.

Local governments and institutions wishing to attend can apply in advance by Oct. 9 via a QR code on the poster. The support team will reflect opinions from the hearing to supplement site selection evaluation criteria and tender guidelines, then announce a call for candidate sites in October. It will later determine the final site after evaluations and on-site inspections.