Korea National Railway wins PM's award for railway-zone reporting service

The Korea National Railway said Thursday that it received the prime minister's award in the knowledge management category at the 15th Korea Knowledge Grand Prize, hosted by the Ministry of Interior and Safety, at the Shilla Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul.

The Korea Knowledge Grand Prize is a government award that recognizes institutions for achievements in government innovation and improved corporate competitiveness through knowledge administration and management, and spreads best practices. This year's competition focused on cases in which institutions actively adopted the latest digital technology to streamline public services and improve working methods.

The railway agency was recognized for converting the once-complicated process of reporting activities in railway protection zones into a digital system based on the Railway Comprehensive Information System, improving both public convenience and administrative efficiency.

Reporting activities in railway protection zones is a system under the Railway Safety Act. The zones cover areas within 30 meters of a railway boundary. Anyone planning excavation, new construction or similar work there must report to the Korea National Railway, which manages the zones. Previously, the process required a total of 11 steps from filing a report to confirming the outcome. The agency streamlined the system so that all steps can now be processed at once. This cut document output by 88.9 percent, from about 19,224 cases to 2,136, and shortened the processing period from about 30 days to 22 days.

The agency also introduced automated KakaoTalk notifications to inform applicants of their case's progress at each stage in real time, and built an AI chatbot incorporating about 200 consultation scenarios so the public can check laws and procedures related to protection zones at any time.

"It is meaningful that our efforts to improve public convenience and administrative efficiency by actively utilizing innovative technologies such as AI have been recognized externally," said Jeong Jin-hyeok, president of the Korea National Railway. "We will focus the capabilities gained through this work innovation on protecting railway facilities and inspecting high-risk construction sites, and do our best to ensure that the results of our digital transformation lead to a safer railway environment."

Meanwhile, the Korea National Railway is an organization under the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport responsible for building and upgrading the national railway network. Jeong took office as its ninth president on Sept. 1.