Interior ministry names Daegu winner of local ICT awards

The interior ministry said Monday it selected Daegu Metropolitan City for the presidential prize at its annual local government information and communications technology competition. The city earned the top honor for deploying internet-of-things smart mirrors that detect approaching vehicles in blind spots and warn drivers to slow down.

The 31st contest featured thirty-three entries from metropolitan and basic local governments across the country. Held in Seoul from September 10 to 11, the event aimed to discover innovative cases reflecting latest technologies like AI in administration and facilitate the spread of excellent policies among local governments. A panel of judges reviewed written submissions and public evaluations before conducting on-site inspections to choose eight finalists.

Gyeonggi Province took the prime minister's award for building a mobile civil service platform that allows different local offices to share fifth-generation government network infrastructure. Six other municipalities received ministerial awards for projects ranging from automated pet registration systems in Yongin to artificial intelligence traps for monitoring agricultural pests in Jeju. Seoul was recognized for a physical AI system that uses drones to detect and rescue suicide attempters along the Han River, while Gyeongsangnam-do secured an award for duplicating its broadband network to ensure uninterrupted administrative services during extreme disasters.

Song Sang-hyo, who chaired the judging committee, said many entries creatively combined latest technologies with artificial intelligence to bring visible changes to local communities, making it difficult to distinguish between the top candidates. Hwang Gyu-cheol, head of the ministry's artificial intelligence government office, added that while AI is innovative on its own, its impact grows significantly when combined with other information and communications technologies, pledging to continue discovering outstanding services that citizens can feel directly in their daily lives.