Gangneung Mayor Kim Jung-nam said Tuesday he would push to establish an AI-focused science high school in the city, as plans for a long-delayed AI data center in the Okgye area appear to be taking shape.
Kim made the announcement at a press conference marking his first 100 days in office. He said the city would build a talent development pipeline — running from education through research, employment, entrepreneurship and settlement — by providing quality education and research opportunities for local youth and attracting outside talent. The AI science high school was presented as a key part of that vision.
The proposed school would focus on nurturing future talent in AI, science and advanced technology at an early stage. It is being considered as a new, Gangneung-specific institution — not a branch or affiliated school of an existing science academy.
Amid the push for the new school, attention is turning to whether Gangneung and neighboring Donghae will compete over its location or whether one city will defer to the other. The Donghae AI data center project, targeting a total capacity of 2.4 gigawatts with a 2028 completion goal, is currently moving faster than the Gangneung project, which scaled back its initial 1-gigawatt plan and is proceeding at 40 percent capacity for now. The Okgye substation needed to support the full capacity of the Gangneung AI data center is scheduled to come online in December 2028.
Kim added that the city would build a lifelong talent development platform by leveraging national research institutions, including the Korea Institute of Science and Technology's Gangneung branch and the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology, while strengthening ties among educational institutions, universities and research bodies.
The mayor said Gangneung would diversify its tourism-heavy industrial base and create new growth engines to attract and retain young workers by drawing in AI data centers, expanding industrial land, strengthening infrastructure for roads, railways and government agencies, extending financial support to small businesses and opening a youth center.
Specifically, the city plans to expand industrial sites and advanced industry capacity by attracting AI data centers and enlarging the science industrial complex and the Jumunjin agricultural-industrial complex site, while easing cash-flow pressures on local merchants through special guarantee programs for small businesses.
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