Agency earns 'very excellent' rating for opening disaster-safety data and synthetic datasets to drive private-sector innovation
The Korea Forest Service's efforts to transparently disclose and systematically manage forest data tied to public safety have yielded tangible results in digital government.
The Korea Forest Service announced Wednesday that it received the Prime Minister's Award at the Ministry of Interior and Safety's 2026 Digital Government Development Merit ceremony, in recognition of its contributions to public data advancement and digital administrative innovation.
The agency scored 101.99 points — including bonus points — in the 2025 Public Data Provision and Operations Assessment, far exceeding the 86.9-point average for agencies of its tier and earning the "very excellent" rating awarded to only the top 5 percent of all participating institutions.
The Korea Forest Service has consistently led efforts to identify and release high-value data directly relevant to public life and safety. It has proactively opened new information in the disaster-safety field — including nationwide landslide records, wildfire occurrence data and large-scale forest type maps — areas of growing importance amid climate change, contributing to the development of a science-based disaster response system.
To support private-sector startups and AI technology innovation, the agency also took the initiative in releasing "synthetic data" — artificially generated datasets free from personal information concerns — allowing private companies and researchers to use forest data with preserved statistical characteristics without restriction. The move is helping stimulate a range of future industries, including AI model development and forest-related service startups.
In addition, the Korea Forest Service has actively pursued inclusive digital administration to ensure no citizen is left behind. It participated directly in events such as the Safety Industry Expo and the Forest Expo to provide on-site support for private companies using its data. It also produced and distributed a public data user guide in Braille for digitally vulnerable groups, including older adults and the visually impaired who are less familiar with smartphones and the internet.
"This Prime Minister's Award is the fruit of every staff member's effort to provide better services to the public through data and to build a safer Korea," said Lee Jun-san, acting director of planning and coordination at the Korea Forest Service. "In line with the AI era, we will continue to expand the release of high-value forest public data, strengthen cooperation with the private sector, and drive digital administrative innovation that citizens can feel in their daily lives."
kwonhl@heraldcorp.com
