Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport launches service development; pilot to begin in December across four local governments
A salaried worker eyeing land near a city buys a 330-square-meter agricultural plot, planning to build a 66-square-meter residential structure and use the rest as a kitchen garden — only to find the permitting process bewildering, with no clear sense of what steps to take or how long each might require.
As early as the end of this year, AI will offer a way to cut through the confusion surrounding complex land development permits.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport is developing a system that merges spatial data from its Digital Twin National Land platform with AI technology, enabling users to receive an advance diagnostic of their land and a customized checklist to prepare for administrative procedures. The system will also let users check expected fees and processing times before they begin.
The ministry held a joint launch meeting Thursday to formally kick off the AI-based integrated permit pre-screening service development project. The service has been selected under the "AI Top 10 Public Livelihood Projects" program, a pan-government public AI transformation initiative led by the Ministry of Science and ICT.
Currently, land development activities — including conversion of farmland and forestland and building permits — require clearing as many as 23 separate permits for a construction approval and up to 36 for a factory establishment, all governed by more than 200 laws and local government ordinances. Processing times range from a minimum of two months to as long as a year, causing significant inconvenience for the public.
The integrated permit pre-screening service will deploy an AI agent to comprehensively analyze the target land's zoning designation, building coverage ratio, floor area ratio and use restrictions alongside applicable laws and ordinances, as well as the intent behind a user's inquiry, then guide users through the required permits and review items.
The service will launch as a pilot in four local governments in December, expand to 10 local governments in June next year, and roll out nationwide — including a mobile app — for both the general public and civil servants in the second half of 2027.
The system will also automatically reflect changes in land-use designations when local governments issue urban management plan decisions, and resident development needs will be actively incorporated during the pilot phase.
The ministry expects the changes to cut permit preparation and processing times by more than 30 percent, saving an estimated 7.5 billion won ($4.91 million) annually in administrative and permit-handling costs.
"AI technology will put in place a framework that lets the public check permit information more easily and quickly," said Lee Dae-seop, director of the ministry's National Land Information Policy Division. "We will continue expanding AI services that people can feel in their daily lives across a range of areas, including Digital Twin National Land and digital and AI transformation innovation."
smh@heraldcorp.com
