Korea launches manufacturing data alliance with 116 billion won national library plan

South Korea's industry ministry launched a public-private data division of its manufacturing AI alliance on Thursday, pairing the new body with a 116 billion won ($87.4 million) plan to build a national manufacturing data library, as Seoul tries to remove the fragmented factory records it says are holding back artificial intelligence adoption on the plant floor.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said the M.AX Alliance data division was inaugurated at a ceremony at the Pangyo manufacturing AI solution center, attended by Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan, data specialists and officials from the Korea Evaluation Institute of Industrial Technology, the Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology and the Korea Electronics Technology Institute.

The government has identified data as the biggest obstacle to spreading manufacturing AI. Factories accumulate vast amounts of information, but formats and standards differ between companies and industries, firms are reluctant to share core data externally, and the data that is collected lacks adequate quality and security management, making it hard to use for actual AI training.

The new division is intended to turn data efforts that have been pursued piecemeal by individual companies into a coordinated public-private response. The roadmap it published is the first comprehensive strategy on manufacturing data, covering the entire chain from collection through standardization, storage, management and use.

"Connecting the technology and know-how accumulated on manufacturing floors into high-quality data is the key to manufacturing AI competitiveness and the core task of the M.AX Alliance," Kim said.

The plan's first pillar is standardization, which the ministry describes as the core policy tool for linking data generated by different equipment, processes and environments. The remaining tasks are strategic data collection, safe and systematic management, and the development of manufacturing foundation models along with support for specialized AI companies.

"The government will also prepare common standards and safe utilization infrastructure and systems for manufacturing data so that companies can provide and use data with confidence," Kim said.

The national manufacturing data library will be built and operated from 2027 to 2031, with 116 billion won proposed in the government's 2027 budget.