Rep. Jang Cheol-min of the Democratic Party of Korea [provided by the lawmaker's office]
Rep. Jang Cheol-min of the Democratic Party of Korea [provided by the lawmaker's office]

Rep. Jang Cheol-min of the Democratic Party of Korea, who represents Dong-gu in Daejeon, announced Tuesday that he has introduced the Industrial AI Transition Act — known as the M.AX Act, a comprehensive revision of the Act on Promotion of Industrial Digital Transformation and AI Utilization — to provide systematic, government-level support for the AI transformation of the manufacturing sector.

The bill is designed to lay the institutional groundwork for the "manufacturing AI transformation" initiative pursued by the Lee Jae-myung administration. Key features include renaming the law the "Act on Promotion of Industrial AI Transformation" and establishing support across the entire process — from collaboration between manufacturing and AI companies and systematic collection and management of industrial field data to research and development, pilot testing, certification and safety management of AI products.

According to Jang, South Korea's manufacturing industry faces the dual challenge of a shrinking working-age population and intensifying global technology competition.

Projections from the Ministry of Statistics show the share of the working-age population — those aged 15 to 64 — is expected to fall from 71.1 percent in 2022 to 68.8 percent in 2026 and further to 61.7 percent by 2036. The figures underscore the urgency of an industrial transition driven by technological innovation and productivity gains.

Major economies including the United States and China are also pursuing AI leadership and factory-floor application as national strategies. The US has placed AI innovation and related infrastructure development at the core of its national AI action plan, while China has launched a special AI-plus-manufacturing action plan to expand AI use across industrial data and production processes.

The South Korean government announced its "Manufacturing AI 2030 Strategy" in June, pledging 20 trillion won ($13.6 billion) in combined public and private investment by 2030. The plan envisions integrating AI into competitive core industries — semiconductors, automobiles and shipbuilding — as well as large and small and medium-sized enterprise value chains and the on-site expertise of skilled workers, to secure new growth engines for manufacturing.

To support the manufacturing AI transformation, the bill includes provisions covering the full project cycle. It would require the Trade, Industry and Energy minister to support the formation and operation of a Manufacturing AI Transition Alliance, bringing together manufacturers, industrial AI suppliers and buyers, universities and research institutions. Participating companies and organizations would be eligible for administrative and fiscal support, including joint technology development, infrastructure building, financial assistance and regulatory improvements.

The bill also calls for a support program to collect and preserve unstructured industrial data accumulated on factory floors — including the movements, judgments, know-how and knowledge of skilled workers. The collected data would be made available for the research and development, pilot testing and commercialization of industrial AI products and services, as well as for training specialized personnel.

In addition, flagship projects deemed to require swift execution for national economic interests, security, supply chain stability and future competitiveness would be exempt from preliminary feasibility reviews.

A new procedure would also be established requiring relevant government agencies to respond within a set period when companies participating in flagship projects apply for regulatory improvements. The bill also calls for building a national industrial data library to safely accumulate and utilize industrial data at the national level.

"In an era of intensifying global competition and a shrinking working-age population, the AI transformation of industry is not a choice but an essential task for the survival and growth of our industries," Jang said. "We have powerful assets — competitive manufacturing, data from the factory floor, and the experience of skilled workers. The M.AX Act is the institutional foundation for the manufacturing AI transformation that connects field data to new technologies and industries. Now that the National Assembly's trade, industry and SME committee has resumed normal operations, we will make up for lost time and accelerate the review of the bill and budget support."


bigroot@heraldcorp.com