Daedong to Invest 80 Billion Won in AI Tractor Production in Daegu
Daedong will close its Chinese factory and invest 80 billion won in advanced production facilities at its Daegu plant. The project includes an AI-based premium AX line, robotic painting and a dedicated factory for AI-enabled autonomous tractors.
Daedong brings production back to South Korea
South Korean agricultural machinery manufacturer Daedong plans to invest 80 billion won in its Daegu production base after deciding to withdraw from its factory in China. The company signed an investment agreement with the Daegu Metropolitan Government on August 20 at the city government’s Sangyeok office, according to Gukje News.
The agreement establishes a framework for cooperation between Daedong and the municipal government as the company returns production to South Korea. Daegu will support the investment through administrative assistance, permits and efforts to resolve regulatory obstacles. The city has previously assisted Daedong in areas including industrial sites, investment and research and development.
AI lines and autonomous tractors
Daedong, described by Gukje News as South Korea’s largest agricultural machinery company, will modernize its plant in the Dalseong 1st Industrial Complex. The investment will introduce an AI-based premium AX production line, a robotic painting line and other advanced manufacturing systems. Daedong also plans to build a new factory dedicated to autonomous tractors using artificial intelligence.
The company has not disclosed the planned production capacity, construction timetable, expected employment or the tractor models to be made at the new facility. It also has not provided a breakdown of the 80 billion won budget between factory construction, machinery, automation and software. Those details will determine how much additional capacity the project creates beyond the modernization of existing operations.
Daedong’s decision comes amid changes in global supply chains and increasing protectionism, according to Gukje News. Closing the Chinese factory and concentrating the investment in Daegu will place more of the company’s advanced manufacturing inside its domestic production network. For suppliers, the move could create demand for industrial robots, painting equipment, sensors, control systems and components used in autonomous agricultural machinery.
From machinery producer to agricultural AI company
Daedong says it intends to use Daegu as the center of a shift beyond conventional agricultural machinery manufacturing. Its stated goal is to become an agricultural physical-AI company focused on improving global farm productivity. The planned autonomous tractor factory connects that strategy with a physical manufacturing asset rather than limiting the initiative to software development.
The company is also considering a national agricultural AX, or artificial-intelligence transformation, platform. Under the concept reported by Gukje News, AI would analyze data gathered from agricultural operations, determine the most effective working methods and carry them out. No investment amount, launch date or participating partners were announced for the proposed platform.
Daegu links the project to industrial modernization
Daegu’s government views the Daedong agreement as part of a broader effort to introduce AI into regional manufacturing and raise productivity and competitiveness. The city wants to develop AI- and robot-centered industries as a new source of regional growth. Dalseong County Mayor Choi Jae-hoon and city council members Park Jong-pil and Choi Jae-gyu attended the signing and agreed to cooperate on the project.
Daegu Mayor Choo Kyung-ho said the investment could become a turning point in Daedong’s development into an agricultural physical-AI company and a starting point for wider AI adoption in Daegu manufacturing. The immediate industrial significance, however, rests on execution: installing the new lines, establishing autonomous tractor production and completing the return of manufacturing from China. Until Daedong publishes capacity and schedule details, the confirmed scale of the project remains the 80 billion won investment and the specified package of AI, robotics and autonomous-machinery facilities.