Industry ministry to hold AI training for senior officials

The industry ministry said Friday it will hold an artificial intelligence transformation program for director-level and higher officials.

The sessions will be held at the Government Complex Sejong from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., including lunch, on Aug. 14, and from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Aug. 18. The ministry said it organized the training because officials who decide policy and lead the organization need first to understand AI technology trends and changes in manufacturing, then apply that understanding to policy and organizational operations.

The ministry said the curriculum will cover the latest AI trends, strategic perspectives on manufacturing AX and practical AI-use skills. Kim Ji-hyeon, vice president of the SK AI Committee, will speak on Aug. 14 on recent AI trends and leadership capabilities, including generative AI and AI agents. Choi Jae-sik, a KAIST professor, will review policy and corporate developments in major countries and set out directions for Korean manufacturing. On Aug. 18, Jeon Byung-wook, director of the Korea Automobile Research Institute, will discuss physical AI and changes it could bring to industrial structure. Lee Je-hyeon, head of the AIX Strategy Office at KAIST, will explain job-specific uses of generative AI, prompting and data-security precautions.

The training supports M.AX, the ministry's core strategy for manufacturing AI transformation across production processes, products and regions. The ministry launched the M.AX Alliance in September 2025 with manufacturers, AI companies, universities and research institutions to pursue the strategy across those areas.

"M.AX is about changing both companies' production methods on factory floors and the government's policy direction together," Industry Minister Kim Jeong-gwan said. "Officials must first understand AX trends and lead organizational and policy transformation to produce results that can be felt in the field at speed."