Jung Sang-hoon, acting first administrative deputy mayor of Seoul [Seoul Metropolitan Government]
Jung Sang-hoon, acting first administrative deputy mayor of Seoul [Seoul Metropolitan Government]

Jung Sang-hoon, acting first administrative deputy mayor of Seoul, has been appointed as the city's inaugural chief AI officer, tasked with overseeing the Seoul Metropolitan Government's artificial intelligence policy.

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon recently designated Jung as the city's chief AI officer and notified the Presidential Committee on National AI Strategy, the Seoul Metropolitan Government said Monday.

Jung will formulate and implement Seoul's AI policy and oversee the adoption and use of AI across city administration. He will also represent Seoul on the AI chief officers council under the presidential committee, coordinating the city's cooperation with national AI policy.

The government's AI chief officers council, launched in September last year, is composed of vice minister-level civil servants from minister-level agencies and deputy governors or deputy mayors from metropolitan governments.

The council was elevated to a statutory body when the AI Basic Act took effect on Jan. 22 this year, giving it a formal role in shaping national AI policy. Under that framework, chief AI officers from each ministry gather to review departmental AI strategies and discuss data-driven administrative work, including AI use and data sharing.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government has been moving quickly to build AI-ready administration. Mayor Oh made a youth AI support plan the first policy announcement of his ninth-term inauguration.

The plan calls for providing vouchers so any young Seoul resident can use generative AI regardless of income or qualifications, and for establishing "Seoul AI lounges" — high-performance AI access spaces — in university districts and other areas where young people live and study.

In step with the launch of the ninth term, the city reorganized its structure to position itself as a leader in AI innovation, renaming the advanced industries division under the economic bureau the AI strategic industries division. The city plans to focus the reorganized unit on related policy and industry development.

"In accordance with the AI Basic Act, we have designated a chief AI officer to accelerate the development of the city's AI policy and the spread of AI across all areas of city administration," a Seoul Metropolitan Government official said.


ken@heraldcorp.com