Bank of Korea Governor Shin Hyun-song said artificial intelligence (AI) will become a growth engine for regional economies only if production systems, organizations and institutions are redesigned around it. Speaking at the 2026 BOK Regional Economic Symposium in Daejeon on the 15th, he compared AI with earlier general-purpose technologies such as steam power, electricity and the internet, while cautioning that productivity gains may take considerable time to emerge. The symposium highlighted risks of wider regional disparities: generative and agentic AI exposure is concentrated in the Seoul metropolitan area, while physical AI exposure is higher in non-metropolitan regions reliant on manufacturing and primary industries. Speakers proposed regional service specialization, knowledge-based manufacturing, AI-focused hub universities, worker reskilling and stronger organizational capacity. Discussions also covered how AI data centers can lift regional output and national productivity, and how location-based AI recommendations can help small businesses if supported by high-quality digital content and improved marketing capabilities.