On Oct. 26 local time located at Princeton University, toured facilities including its shared workspace, and met with New Jersey AI Hub Chief Executive Officer Liat Kravitz to hear about the hub's establishment and operations.
"Among South Korea's 16 local governments, Chungcheongnam-do is the only one presenting the bold goal of becoming the nation's 'AI capital,'" Park said, adding, "I felt that the New Jersey AI Hub is an innovation platform for society as a whole, going beyond an industrial cluster or research function."
Park asked whether there had been difficulties in bringing together institutions, universities and companies with different characteristics and purposes to form the AI hub, and whether state government budget support affects the hub's operational autonomy.
The New Jersey AI Hub is an AI innovation platform based on public-private-academic cooperation, established in March 2025 with joint participation from the state of New Jersey, Princeton University, Microsoft and CoreWeave.
Princeton University handles AI research, education and talent development; the New Jersey Economic Development Authority oversees policy support, investment and corporate growth; and Microsoft and CoreWeave provide the AI technology platform and high-performance computing infrastructure.
The New Jersey AI Hub focuses on connecting university research outcomes to corporate technology development, startups, investment and job creation, and on spreading AI technology across industry and society.
It links AI startup incubation, investment attraction, commercialization of research outcomes, talent development and policy development to create a virtuous cycle of technological innovation and economic growth. It also supports the AI transition of small and medium-sized enterprises and provides citizen education at public libraries so that ordinary residents can access opportunities to use AI.
Park then visited the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) headquarters, where he met UNDP Associate Administrator Xu Haoliang. "I want to explore sustainable development measures for Chungcheongnam-do in the era of the great AI transformation on the basis of cooperation with the UNDP," Park said, asking for Xu's interest and advice.
Regarding efforts to attract a global AI hub (UN AI Hub), Park said, "Chungcheongnam-do not only has a concentration of advanced companies and investment but also 29 universities, along with excellent transportation, culture and ecological environment."
Xu said, "AI can deliver high productivity and solutions, but there are concerns over security, energy issues and the digital divide," advising that "when adopting AI, support for startups and traditional industries, as well as education and policies to protect young people's quality of life and jobs, are needed."
Park also met Ambassador Cha Ji-hoon at the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Korea to the United Nations in New York to explore ways for Chungcheongnam-do, which is rising as "South Korea's AI capital," to expand global AI cooperation.
Cha has been appointed co-chair of the 2027 Global Dialogue on AI Governance and will preside over next year's New York event, leading intergovernmental consultations to draft outcomes and set the international AI governance agenda.
"We announced that we would bring a global AI hub to Chungcheongnam-do. The province has a large advanced manufacturing base of major companies, and neighboring regions have ample research and development capabilities," Park said, also explaining plans for cooperation with neighboring local governments.
Cha said, "At meetings where world leaders gather, the traditional staple agenda items were peace and security, but now AI is by far the biggest topic," adding, "The UN's cases can serve as a good reference model for Chungcheongnam-do, which is pursuing both industrial innovation and social inclusion."