AI scientists and developers from across South Korea are competing in regional qualifying rounds to advance to the national finals of the Public Data and AI Startup Competition, organized by the Ministry of Interior and Safety.
Much like televised talent competitions that begin at the local level, the path to the national finals is extraordinarily narrow.
In Wonju, a Gangwon Province city of 360,000 people, 98 teams entered the local heat. Only one made it through: the team behind "Rodi," a project to build a traffic safety AI platform for Wonju through the introduction of an integrated road safety facility management system called ROADEE-IMS. The team took the top prize and earned the sole berth in the Ministry of Interior and Safety's national finals.
The concept drew high marks for its proposal to use public data and AI to systematically manage traffic safety facilities.
The Wonju competition ran for one month from June 8 to July 8, with finalists selected through two rounds of written and presentation reviews. The remaining five prizes — below the grand prize — were presented by the heads of public institutions in the city's innovation district.
About 50 people attended Thursday's awards ceremony, including Wonju Mayor Ku Ja-yeol, heads of public institutions in the innovation district such as the Korea Road Traffic Authority, the National Health Insurance Service and the Korean Red Cross, prize recipients, and university officials.
The competition was established to uncover creative ideas using public data and AI to address local challenges and promote data-driven public administration.
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