Ministry of Trade Industry and Resources

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources (MOTIR, Minister JK Kim) held a meeting of the Ulsan M.AX Innovation Network in Industrial Complexes (MINI) Alliance at the Ulsan Information Industry Promotion Agency (UIPA) on May 13, 2026, to discuss the M.AX strategy for Ulsan’s petrochemical sector and ways to expand it across the region. The meeting brought together manufacturing companies, AI firms, universities, research institutes and local governments. 

The meeting marked the first time Minister Kim chaired a MINI Alliance meeting since MOTIR launched the Industrial Complex AX Subcommittee under the M.AX Alliance and 10 MINI Alliances in February 2026. The Ulsan-Mipo National Industrial Complex is Korea’s largest hub for automobiles, shipbuilding and petrochemicals, and has symbolized the growth of Korea’s key industries since the 1960s. It is also one of Korea’s leading petrochemical clusters, representing 48 percent of companies, 45 percent of production and 43 percent of exports across the country’s three main petrochemical complexes—Ulsan, Yeosu and Daesan—and underpinned by more than 60 years of process operation expertise and industrial data.

Ahead of the meeting, Minister Kim visited SK Energy’s plant, a lead site where petrochemical AX is being demonstrated in an industrial complex setting. There, he saw firsthand how AI models could support process, equipment and safety management. SK Energy is applying AI across its operations, including an AI virtual sensor that predicts diesel quality indicators at its Fluid Catalytic Cracking (FCC) unit in real time, a predictive diagnosis algorithm that monitors vibration and temperature in rotating equipment, and on-site monitoring based on AI-powered video analysis.

The Ulsan MINI Alliance is focusing on production process optimization, equipment predictive maintenance and safety management, areas where AI demand is strong across the petrochemical sector. AI models validated in Ulsan are expected to spread quickly to other industrial complexes and similar sectors nationwide. MOTIR will support the early development of leading M.AX models for petrochemicals at the Ulsan-Mipo National Industrial Complex and turn them into scalable examples. The effort is expected to strengthen the competitiveness of Korea’s petrochemical industry against immediate challenges such as global oversupply and the recent situation in the Middle East.

After the site visit, Lee Dong-gu, Chair of the Ulsan MINI Alliance, and Park Min-won, Chair of the Industrial Complex AX Subcommittee, gave presentations before a participant discussion. Participants supported the government’s industrial complex AX strategy and called for faster rollout, balanced data use and security, regulatory sandboxes and specialized workforce training.

“Ulsan is a core manufacturing hub for Korea, with extensive industrial data and manufacturing capabilities,” Minister Kim said. “Through the Ulsan MINI Alliance, we will deploy AI models that optimize production, improve equipment integrity and prevent accidents, creating manufacturing sites that are more precise, faster and safer. We will make Ulsan a regional base for accelerating M.AX.”