Korea Manpower Agency wins top prize at Ulsan public institution innovation contest

A service developed by the Korea Manpower Agency that automatically verifies a youth applicant's benefit eligibility and immigration records — eliminating the need to submit supporting documents — has won the top prize at a joint innovation competition among Ulsan public institutions.

Six Ulsan-based public institutions, including the Korea Manpower Agency, held the "2026 Ulsan Public Institution Joint Innovation Competition" at the agency's headquarters in Jung-gu, Ulsan, on Tuesday, recognizing 12 outstanding cases. It was the first joint competition since the Ulsan Public Institution Innovation Council was launched in 2023. Each institution submitted 10 entries for a total of 60, and 8 of the 12 winning projects were classified under AI.

The Korea Manpower Agency, which took the top prize, linked public MyData to its overseas employment support website, WorldJob+. Once a member gives consent, the system automatically checks whether the person qualifies as a vulnerable youth and connects them to preferential selection and additional support for training programs. An AI function also flags eligible youth who have not applied for support, as well as suspected cases of duplicate benefits, and alerts the relevant staff member, who makes the final determination.

Excellence prizes went to the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service, Ulsan Port Authority, Korea East-West Power, Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency, and Korea Energy Agency. The Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service is building an AI consulting platform linked to National Tax Service income data, in preparation for a change taking effect in January that will base monthly employment and industrial accident insurance premiums on actual monthly wages. Once the platform launches, business owners will be able to check their insurance premiums around the clock without visiting an office or calling in.

Ulsan Port Authority developed a system that lets users search for available port facilities on a map, calculate the area needed and apply for permits online, cutting permit processing time from more than three days to within one day. Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency integrated about 38 million workplace data records into a map, making industrial accident prevention information searchable for about 6 million workplaces.

Korea East-West Power is developing an AI feature that draws on 74,000 risk assessments accumulated over seven years to guide workers through hazard factors and required protective equipment at each stage of a task. Korea Energy Agency supported a community solar income program called "Haetbit Soduk Maeul," in which resident cooperatives operate solar power facilities and return the proceeds to their villages. This year's first and second rounds of applications received a combined 737 submissions.

To identify cases that other institutions could adopt, the council allocated 30 of the 100 scoring points to "scalability and applicability." After the awards ceremony, the heads of all six institutions read a joint declaration pledging to promote verified best practices and share progress on their respective projects.