Ministry of the Interior and Safety gives 20 local enterprises top grades

South Korea's Ministry of the Interior and Safety said Friday that 20 local public enterprises earned the highest grade in its 2026 review of 2025 performance, which put greater weight on safety, public services and regional cooperation.

The assessment covered 268 local public enterprises and assigned results across five grades.

Safety-facility investment rose to 1.9 trillion won ($1.34 billion) in 2025 from 1.5 trillion won ($1.06 billion) in 2024. Gwangju Transportation Corp was cited for building a CCTV-based system using artificial intelligence to inspect electric train cars.

Fifteen urban development corporations reduced household housing-cost burdens by 42.8 trillion won ($30.2 billion) through public and youth housing. Tourism and facilities enterprises introduced automatic enrollment in free safety insurance for foreign travelers and supported the Gyeongju Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. Seoul Agro-Fisheries & Food Corp was recognized for working with wholesale-market corporations to increase supplies of price-sensitive items, while Daegu Public Facilities Management Corp received credit for real-time CCTV anomaly detection at sewage-treatment facilities and measures to lower costs.

"The role of local public enterprises is paramount to materially improving people's lives, because they provide public services at the front line closest to people's daily lives," Kim Min-jae, a vice minister at the ministry, said.

Operating revenue per employee rose to 515 million won ($362,983) in 2025 from 502 million won ($353,820) a year earlier as personnel management and cost controls offset higher labor and materials costs. The debt ratio for local corporations and authorities climbed to 89.22 percent from 80.71 percent, with urban development corporations most affected by a property-market slump and inflation.

Five enterprises with weak management systems or financial health were selected for management diagnoses. From September, the ministry plans on-site inspections by teams of five experts and management-improvement orders by year-end.