'Seoul Talk' Civil Complaints Expanded from 46 to 54 Types, Adding Parking Violations and Illegal Sign Reports... AI Also Distributes Complaints

Added 16 Frequently Requested Civil Complaints for a Total of 54 Types of Reports and Applications... Automatic Input via KakaoTalk Mobile Number

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Seoul Metropolitan Government is expanding the types of civil complaints that can be easily reported through the KakaoTalk chatbot ‘Seoultok’ from the existing 46 to 54. Frequently requested complaints by citizens, such as violations of resident priority parking zones, requests for designation of no-smoking areas, and reports of sidewalk inconveniences, will be added.

On the 7th, Seoul announced the implementation of the improved ‘Seoultok’ service. The goal is to enhance citizen convenience by broadening the service scope and providing a higher level of artificial intelligence service.

Seoul is also improving the complaint handling method of ‘Seoultok’ by utilizing AI (artificial intelligence). AI will handle illegal parking reports, which account for 77% of all on-site complaints. Previously, 120 counselors distributed these reports to autonomous districts one by one, but now this process will be handled without human intervention, reducing the complaint distribution time by a total of 200 hours per month and easing the workload of the 120 counselors.

First, among the 46 types of on-site complaints previously accepted by ‘Seoultok,’ 8 similar complaints have been integrated and reorganized, and 16 frequently occurring complaints have been added. Citizens can now report a total of 54 types of on-site complaints across 5 categories through ‘Seoultok.’

The 16 newly added on-site complaint types include ▲violations of resident and disabled priority parking zones ▲illegal signboards and banners ▲requests for designation of no-smoking areas ▲building and construction site safety reports ▲requests for installation and inspection of heatwave shade shelters and cold wave shelters ▲group food poisoning reports ▲requests for inspection of roads and traffic facilities, among others. When illegal parking reports are received through ‘Seoultok,’ AI-based RPA (Robotic Process Automation) identifies the location of the report and automatically distributes it in real time to the relevant autonomous district. The parking enforcement officers in each district receive the reports immediately, reducing complaint distribution time and increasing the speed of complaint processing.

Seoul is currently applying RPA to 9 autonomous districts starting in August and plans to expand it to all districts by the end of the year. As a result of the application, 200 hours of complaint distribution processing time were saved per month. When expanded to all 25 autonomous districts by the end of the year, it is expected that complaint distribution processing time will be reduced by a total of 600 hours per month.

Meanwhile, ‘Seoultok’ has established itself as a communication channel capable of providing immediate responses anytime and anywhere, handling 16% of the 120 counseling calls. Through ‘Seoultok,’ consultations on COVID-19 testing, vaccine reservations and vaccinations, and various disaster relief funds are also possible. Especially during July and August, when COVID-19 cases surged, the number of users increased by more than two to three times.

From the 6th, the COVID-19 Coexistence National Support Fund can also be applied for through ‘Seoultok,’ which provides detailed guidance on the application process. By typing ‘National Support Fund’ in the ‘Seoultok’ chat window, users receive detailed information about eligibility and application methods for the COVID-19 Coexistence National Support Fund. Seoul plans to introduce library usage guidance and lifelong learning course registration services through ‘Seoultok’ in the future. The city intends to continuously expand services so that citizens can easily find and use information needed in daily life.

Park Jong-su, Director of Smart City Policy at Seoul City, said, “The chatbot ‘Seoultok’ serves as a 24-hour citizen assistant handling everything from consultation and guidance on city administration to citizen application tasks,” adding, “We will continue to combine various AI technologies and expand service areas to provide a higher-level intelligent service.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.