Lays the groundwork for attracting the UN AI Hub and establishes first-time exchanges with Italy's economic center 

Chungnam Province has laid the stepping stone to secure a visit to Chungnam by Pope Leo XIV during the World Youth Day to be held in South Korea next year.

In addition, the province succeeded in attracting its first foreign investment under the 9th popular-elected administration, expanded overseas market entry for local enterprises, and laid the groundwork for cooperation in future industries including artificial intelligence (AI) with European institutions and corporations.

On the 31st, Governor Park Soo-hyun held a press conference at the provincial government press center to explain the results of his first official overseas business trip under the 9th popular-elected administration.

During this trip, Governor Park attended the general audience held at St. Peter's Square in Rome, Italy, on the 26th (local time), where he met Pope Leo XIV in person and requested his visit to Chungnam next year.

Governor Park stated, “I mentioned that if you visit our Chungnam, which is a ‘land of martyrs,’ it will become the first local government successively visited by the Pope, and it would greatly help global youth share the sense of community spirit and respect for life that our society should pursue, thereby requesting a visit to Chungnam on the occasion of his visit to Korea.”

“I thought that networking the numerous Catholic martyrdom sites in Chungnam could create the 'Santiago of the East,' and I shared this thought with the Pope,” Governor Park added.

He explained that in response to Governor Park’s request, Pope Leo XIV smiled and nodded.

During his European tour, Governor Park also focused on strengthening the provincial economy and industrial ecosystem, including attracting foreign investment.

On the 25th, in Frankfurt, Germany, Governor Park signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) worth $13.5 million with Webasto Group, a global automotive parts specialist.

Under this agreement, Webasto will expand its plant in the Songsan 2-2 Foreign Investment Zone in Dangjin and install a new automotive battery pack production line.

This MOU marks the first foreign investment attraction since the launch of the 9th popular-elected administration, and the province expects it to help strengthen the future mobility industry ecosystem and create local jobs.

Following the agreement, he met with global companies operating production facilities in Chungnam, including Webasto, BASF, Edwards, and Umicore, to listen to their difficulties and requests, discuss solutions, and broaden the stepping stone for additional foreign investment.

On the 24th in Frankfurt, he met with European branch officials of domestic companies headquartered or operating business sites in Chungnam, such as Hanwha TotalEnergies, to listen to the status of manufacturing industries and investment trends in Europe including Germany, as well as the local management situations of Korean companies, while seeking support and cooperation measures.

After this meeting, he moved to Ludwigshafen and visited the BASF headquarters to examine the world's largest single chemical production complex and the ‘Verbund’ system.

During this visit, Governor Park checked BASF's carbon reduction and resource efficiency strategies, devising ways to strengthen the competitiveness of the Seosan Daesan Petrochemical Complex, which faces complex challenges such as global oversupply, intensifying competition from China, rising energy costs, and carbon neutrality.

On-site support was also provided for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) entering the European market.

To coincide with Governor Park's trip, the province and the Chungnam Technopark (Chungnam Economic Promotion Agency) held export consultation sessions for the ‘Europe Overseas Market Pioneer Delegation’ in Frankfurt, Germany, and Paris, France.

A total of 13 provincial companies producing various products such as dried laver (gim), tteokbokki, soybean paste soup kits, and cosmetics participated in each consultation session, conducting consultations with European buyers and achieving results of 246 consultations amounting to $37.05 million, and 34 contract signings amounting to $12.31 million.

On the 25th, Governor Park visited the consultation venue in Frankfurt to encourage businesspeople, introduce the competitiveness of Chungnam products to local buyers, and request active interest and purchases.

He also laid the first stepping stone to expand the global AI network and explored ways to attract the United Nations (UN) AI Hub to Chungnam.

On the 27th, Governor Park visited the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) ‘AI Hub for Sustainable Development’ located in Rome, Italy.

The briefing session on this day was attended by about 20 people, including Kizom Ngodup Masali, Director of the UNDP AI Hub Secretariat, Federico Eichberg, Chief Cabinet Officer of the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy, along with senior officials from the central government of Italy, businesspeople, and university figures.

Exceeding the scheduled time by more than an hour, Governor Park listened to the main projects of the UNDP AI Hub, cooperation with central and local governments and private enterprises of various countries, and the role of the Italian government, promising continuous mutual exchange and cooperation.

In the final schedule of his trip, Governor Park opened the gateway for exchanges with Emilia-Romagna, a representative industrial and economic center of Italy, laying a new foundation for local diplomacy.

On the 28th, Governor Park visited Emilia-Romagna and met with Governor Michele de Pascale to discuss exchange and cooperation measures in the fields of industry, AI, agri-food, climate and carbon neutrality, and culture.

Emilia-Romagna is a representative manufacturing and export region of Italy, having established the ‘Motor Valley’ clustered with global automobile companies such as Ferrari, Lamborghini, and Maserati, the ‘Food Valley’ centered on the agri-food industry, and the ‘Data Valley’ linking universities, research institutes, and advanced industries.

Governor Park and Governor Michele de Pascale shared the current industrial and economic status of both regions and agreed to promote exchanges and cooperation centered on social solidarity economy.

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