Construction of an AI gifted high school in South Jeolla Province and Gwangju is set to break ground next year.
Although outstanding administrative hurdles — including the division of operating costs between the central and local governments and a land-use reclassification — have been resolved, scheduling delays have pushed the school's opening back two years to 2029.
The South Jeolla-Gwangju Integrated Special City said Tuesday it plans to break ground next year after wrapping up the operating-cost sharing arrangement and other administrative procedures required to move the AI gifted high school project forward.
The operating-cost dispute was settled in December last year when the central government agreed to cover the full amount. The government's budget proposal for this year also includes 3.14 billion won ($2.32 million) for the school's establishment. The city had long sought full central government funding, while the government had pushed for a greater local share — a standoff ultimately resolved in the city's favor.
Authorities also recently completed the process of reclassifying the designated site, which had been zoned for industrial and commercial use, to allow school construction.
The AI gifted high school is a centerpiece of the city's broader effort to build a pipeline of AI talent — connecting students through university, graduate school and an AI officer academy — and to establish the region as a leading AI hub.
The Ministry of Science and ICT and the then-Gwangju city government launched the project in 2023, and in 2024 the National Assembly passed an amendment to the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology Act allowing GIST to establish and operate an affiliated gifted school.
The project gained further momentum in August of that year when the ministry's National Research and Development Project Evaluation Steering Committee confirmed an exemption from a preliminary feasibility study.
sij@heraldcorp.com
