The Yeongdeungpo-gu Integrated Control Center said it used an AI-based high-speed missing persons search system to safely locate a missing dementia patient roughly two hours after receiving a report, demonstrating the effectiveness of its smart surveillance infrastructure.
According to the district, a missing persons report was filed at around 3:57 p.m. Friday regarding an elderly dementia patient. The police emergency dispatch center immediately asked the Yeongdeungpo-gu Integrated Control Center to trace the person's movements. The center activated its video management system, analyzed past CCTV footage, confirmed the missing person's physical description and began mapping a route.
Operators then entered the person's description into the AI-based high-speed search system and identified the individual wandering near Yeongdeungpo Park. The center immediately relayed the location to the missing persons investigation team, but by the time officers arrived on the scene, the person had already moved on.
The center continued tracking the missing person using the AI system, narrowing the search area by sharing updated location information with officers in the field in real time.
As a result, the person was spotted again at around 5:50 p.m. in an alleyway near a footbridge close to a market. The center immediately passed the location to police, and a patrol car arrived three minutes later, finding the missing person safe. The individual was reunited with family about two hours after the initial report.
The AI-based high-speed missing persons search system automatically scans and tracks individuals captured in nearby CCTV footage, analyzing movement patterns based on physical descriptions and other basic information entered by operators. Yeongdeungpo-gu secured 200 million won ($133,000) through a Seoul Metropolitan Government grant competition to build the system at its integrated control center and has been operating it in earnest since December last year.
The case has been cited as a model example of smart surveillance — using the AI-powered system to quickly trace a missing person's movements and bringing the search to an early resolution through close coordination between the integrated control center and police.
"Thanks to cutting-edge AI technology and the swift response of the Yeongdeungpo-gu Integrated Control Center, we were able to protect a precious life," district mayor Jo Yu-jin said. "We will continue to upgrade our advanced surveillance systems and strengthen cooperation with relevant agencies to build Yeongdeungpo into a smart, safe city that protects the lives and safety of our residents."
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