Seoul's Dongdaemun-gu, led by District Mayor Choi Dong-min, is rolling out what it calls the nation's first "smart integrated pest management" project targeting traditional markets in the Cheongnyangni-dong and Jegi-dong areas, with the initiative set to run through December.
The project introduces a real-time pest detection and data analysis-based control system using AI and IoT technology, with the goal of dramatically improving sanitary conditions inside traditional markets.
The district also plans to reduce unnecessary pesticide use and take a preemptive approach to the risk of pest-borne infectious diseases.
The defining feature of the project is its departure from the conventional one-off, reactive approach to pest control. In its place, the district will build a smart integrated pest management framework capable of real-time detection, data analysis and immediate response.
AI- and IoT-enabled smart pest control devices will be installed at market sites to capture and monitor hygiene pests such as rats and cockroaches, allowing officials to check the population density of various pest species at any time. Accumulated data will also enable analysis of the causes and patterns behind infestations.
Through a public-private partnership with a professional pest control company, the district will operate a 24-hour monitoring system. When pests are detected, rapid on-site response and cause analysis will enable precise, systematic control — raising the overall hygiene standard of the markets.
Through the project, the district plans to support a safer and more comfortable market environment for shoppers and vendors alike, while establishing a science-based, data-driven sanitation management framework.
"This project is significant as the first case in the country to introduce an AI- and IoT-based smart integrated pest control system in traditional markets," District Mayor Choi Dong-min said. "Starting with the traditional markets in the Cheongnyangni-dong and Jegi-dong areas, we will do our utmost to build a more scientific and sustainable quarantine and sanitation management system, creating a market environment where residents and vendors can feel at ease."
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