Korea names 30 public-sector AI projects at Seoul awards event
Korea Western Power and Incheon International Airport Corporation took top prizes at the 2026 public-institution AI challenge, held in Seoul on October 28.
South Korea's Ministry of Science and ICT and the Ministry of Economy and Finance announced 30 winning projects from the 2026 Public Institution AI Innovation Challenge at an awards event in Seoul on October 28, according to digitaltoday.co.kr.
The two ministries received 316 submissions from 105 institutions between June and August, and selected 30 projects after review, including 2 grand prizes.
Korea Western Power won the grand prize in the AI service demonstration and proof-of-concept category for what the ministry described as the country's first K-gas turbine operated by AI and inspected by robots. The project uses an integrated "K-AI full stack" combining domestic NPUs and AI models, with expected economic benefits of about 2.1 billion won per year.
Incheon International Airport Corporation took the grand prize in the best-practice category for moving its aviation safety management system to round-the-clock AI prediction and detection.
Other demonstrations
Korea Electric Power Corporation presented a service that uses the electricity consumption patterns of single-person households to detect risks of solitary death at an early stage. Korea Minting, Security Printing & ID Card Operating Corporation demonstrated a "K-brand global authenticity service" that uses an AI-based digital watermark to verify products as genuine with a smartphone photo.
The challenge, launched in March 2026 as the public-sector programme of the nationwide AI competition, was held this year for the first time.
Quick answers
Who won the grand prizes at the 2026 public institution AI challenge?
Korea Western Power won in the AI service demonstration and proof-of-concept category, and Incheon International Airport Corporation won in the best-practice category.
How many projects were submitted?
105 institutions submitted 316 projects between June and August 2026, and 30 were selected, including 2 grand prizes.
Where was the awards event held?
The 2026 Public Institution AI Innovation event took place at Nuri Kum Square in Sangam-dong, Seoul, on October 28.