Ministry of Health and Welfare presents 'AI Transformation Roadmap for Welfare and Care'

'Smart homes' to monitor safety, health and emotional well-being around the clock

Generative AI to provide consultations, with one-click application links by 2029

The government plans to apply AI to the welfare sector to achieve round-the-clock care, while using the technology to streamline administrative tasks so workers can spend more time in the field where services are needed.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare presented the "AI Transformation Roadmap for Welfare and Care" at a Cabinet meeting Tuesday.

A central pillar of the plan is building an AI-based sustainable care system. By integrating AI into home care, the government aims to create "smart homes" that monitor residents' safety, health and emotional well-being around the clock — even when they are alone. Under the current system, a person must be motionless for up to six hours before a crisis is flagged. The new system will use AI to analyze lifestyle and health data and detect warning signs early.

Care facilities will be converted into "smart facilities" to reduce repetitive and physically demanding tasks and allow workers to focus more on direct care. Rather than checking on residents' safety, sleep and bathroom needs every two hours through the night, staff will rely on smart diapers and fall sensors to detect and respond to abnormalities immediately.

The smart home model will be developed and piloted at 400 households and 12 facilities in 2027, then expanded from 2028 with a focus on public care services. After 2030, the program will extend to home-use autonomous companion robots capable of providing conversation, safety monitoring and health management.

To build a sustainable care-technology ecosystem, the ministry plans to expand research and development investment in AI and IoT care technologies through 2029, and in physical AI and care robots through 2030. Field data from smart homes and facilities will feed into technology development, and proven technologies will be fast-tracked onto the welfare equipment registry and linked to facility fee schedules and voucher programs for broader rollout.

The roadmap also calls for overhauling AI-based welfare administration to strengthen public-facing services.

Starting next year, generative AI will provide welfare consultations in plain, everyday language, with one-click application links to be in place by 2029. AI models will also be used to identify households facing economic hardship as well as those at risk of isolation, abuse or complex care needs.

Manual record-keeping and repetitive tasks at care sites will be digitized, with the goal of automating more than 50 percent of routine welfare administrative work through AI by 2028, freeing civil servants to focus on counseling and direct support.

The ministry will also build a public-private collaboration framework to link and utilize welfare and care data scattered across government and private sectors. Individuals will be able to access their own welfare and care information through a new personal data system, which will eventually connect with medical personal data to support the development of customized AI services.

Additional measures include establishing a legal basis and ethical guidelines for safe AI use, strengthening AI literacy training for care workers and welfare civil servants, developing specialized personnel, and setting up a governance structure and dedicated support system involving government, experts, businesses and frontline workers.

"With a shortage of care workers on the horizon, the new role of technologies such as AI is becoming ever more important," Health and Welfare Minister Jeong Eun-kyeong said. "However, AI is not a replacement for people — it is an assistant that shares simple and repetitive tasks. We will use AI to enhance the sustainability of care and raise the value of care work."

[Ministry of Health and Welfare]
[Ministry of Health and Welfare]

thlee@heraldcorp.com