Country: Korea

KOPIA (Korea Program for International Cooperation in Agricultural Technology) is an innovative development cooperation platform that facilitates agricultural partnerships among partners and donors, where agricultural technologies can be efficiently scaled up and effectively commercialized. KOPIA consists of three pillars: to develop locally-customized farming technologies; to carry out pilot projects to demonstrate practical effectiveness; and to involve other donors for scaling up.

KAFACI and AfricaRice jointly developed the Africa Rice Development Partnership project to increase rice productivity in Africa. Using modern breeding technology that shortens the breeding period from 10-15 years to 3-5 years, and by crossing Korean Japonica rice with African varieties, five high-yielding varieties were developed and registered in three countries. The newly released varieties directly benefited farmers, consumers, retailers and policy-makers due to their high yield and quality.

The Government of the Republic of Korea has implemented an ICT-based agricultural data management system through digitalization and a human capacity building program, which allows innovative data collection, analysis, and sharing in 6 ASEAN member countries. Through this, the governments have improved the paperless work process on agricultural statistics, accumulating the data and human resources for enhancing food security in the ASEAN region.

The open banking platform is a joint open infrastructure in the banking sector which provides core banking services in standardized open API to ensure fintech companies and banks offer fintech services without partnership with individual banks. Inquiry and transfer can be processes for accounts of all 18 banks by simply accessing the standardised open API. Fees were reduced by 1/10. Open banking is expected to spur innovation with the emergence of comprehensive financial platforms and improved…

With the introduction of 5G, global attention on electromagnetic field (EMF) safety has greatly increased. As such, the “IoT-based, unmanned remote EMF measuring equipment” has been developed steadily to measure EMF 24/7/365 while extending EMF measurement to the entire living environment. An “EMF monitoring system” has also been deployed to manage EMF in real time. In so doing, the system has contributed to the building of an EMF-free country while relieving public anxiety over EMF.

The Government of Korea has begun to implement a new Public Procurement of Innovation (PPI) policy, aiming to facilite the diffusion of innovation on the wider market. The Ministry of Science and ICT's new approach takes the existing innovation practice a step further by working in conjunction with associated public R&D projects to identify technological novelty and highlight potential social, economic impacts. This builds confidence for innovative companies and further facilitates public…

High-tech Research Infrastructures (RIs) require large budgets, high operating costs and extensive human resources, making them available only to a small number of prominent researchers. Up-and-coming junior researchers or technical staffs from SMEs, who account for the majority of technology development, are therefore not able to utilise expensive RIs. The South Korean government planned and established the national RIs governance system to solve this issue and fairly allocate opportunities for…

‘Mobile Certified Mail Project’ for Public Sector provides an enhanced convenience to the public by enabling real-time visibility after an identity authentication of the recipient. By working with 60 administrations and public agencies involved in national taxes and social insurances, and platform companies that have 96% of South Korea’s population as members, this project contributes to promoting the public right to know and to strengthening social welfare benefits.

An innovative maritime communication system enabling: 1. Invisible and unidentifiable VHF communication becomes visible in real time with one click. 2. A ship's past routes and/or frequently navigated routes, which were previously unrecorded, will be made known through big data-based analysis that fully reflects the ship's characteristics and general routing patterns. 3. Invisible voices will be made visible through an automatic transcription system based on voice recognition.

With the rise of single households and an aging population, society is demanding a guarantee for healthy living and welfare services. The district has launched customized caregiving services using KakaoTalk messenger, mobile phones, and AI speakers to promote the health and well-being of the socially vulnerable class in particular. To deal with the issue of solitary death, the district utilized their strength in information and communications technology to tackle the issue.