Pilot to launch in January in Incheon's Gyeyang-gu, Eumseong-gun, Asan, Gyeongsan and Yeongcheon
An AI-powered service that tells users in advance whether a permit is likely to be approved — drawing on land development regulations and local government ordinances — is set to launch in South Korea.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced Wednesday that it will begin a pilot of the service in January in Incheon's Gyeyang-gu, North Chungcheong Province's Eumseong-gun, South Chungcheong Province's Asan, and the North Gyeongsang Province cities of Gyeongsan and Yeongcheon.
The service integrates multiple AI agents through an orchestrator that coordinates their functions, with inter-agent connectivity already developed and a testing environment in place for the pilot.
The system applies AI technology that analyzes the intent behind questions written in everyday language, making it accessible to the general public.
The ministry plans to use the five-region pilot to verify the system and establish the reliability of its pre-screening assessments before expanding the service to 18 local governments in June next year. After broadening the range of permit types covered and upgrading the system, it expects to release a mobile version and a civil servant administrative tool in December next year.
The ministry and the Ministry of Science and ICT are holding a development and pilot-results briefing for the "AI-based integrated permit pre-screening service" Wednesday at the 18th K-Geo Festa.
The service is one of the "AI Top 10 Livelihood Projects," a pan-government public AI transformation initiative designed to let citizens experience the benefits of AI firsthand. It was the only Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport project selected through a Ministry of Science and ICT open call.
The ministry has set up a promotional booth at K-Geo Festa where visitors can try the service through Friday and submit feedback on usability and development requirements.
"This briefing was a meaningful occasion to present the pilot results for the first time to local government officials who are on the front lines of serving the public," said Lee Dae-seop, the ministry's director general for land information policy. "We will continue to improve the service's completeness and stability through the pilot and prepare without delay for the official launch."
The AI Top 10 Livelihood Projects is a public AI service initiative the government selected last November through a meeting of ministers overseeing science and technology. The program comprises 10 projects — including an agricultural product smart-consumption platform, an AI tax consultation service, a community policing service and a voice-phishing response platform — with 28.5 billion won ($21.2 million) allocated for this year alone.
smh@heraldcorp.com
