48 Public Officials Begin 'AI Champion Advanced Program' by Ministry of the Interior and Safety to Foster AI Talent

Transforming Administrative Practices with AI: Solving Local Issues
Training in Cutting-Edge Technologies such as Vibe Coding and AI Agents

#. Public officials from Hwaseong Special City, who have been certified as "AI Champions" by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, organized educational gatherings to enable their colleagues to create work programs using artificial intelligence (AI). The AI and data policy research group, which they initiated voluntarily, has now grown to seven teams with a total of 32 members. Furthermore, they are providing AI education to local university students and are connecting AI competencies to solving local issues.

On May 7, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and the National Information Society Agency announced the launch of the "2026 AI Champion Advanced Program" with an entrance ceremony, beginning their efforts to nurture AI hub leaders.

This program is designed to foster practical leaders among public officials who can directly design and solve administrative challenges at their institutions using AI technology. A total of 225 people applied for the program, resulting in a high competition ratio of 4.7 to 1, and the number of selected participants was increased from the originally planned 40 to 48.

The 75 AI Champion talents previously trained by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety have been driving tangible changes in the administrative field. For example, they automated travel expense settlements, which used to be calculated manually every time, significantly reducing work hours. New employees can now quickly understand their tasks with an "AI manual chatbot" search, completing the process in a short time.

The 48 trainees selected this year also participated with project proposals aimed at addressing issues within their respective organizations.

The main projects include: ▲AI safety assistant ▲Automatic analysis of traffic violation videos ▲Automated weather observation data analysis ▲Automation of administrative work using AI, and other ideas closely related to citizens' daily life and work.

The curriculum covers the latest technologies, such as Vibe Coding and AI Agents. Trainees will directly design pilot service models for their organizations. The Ministry of the Interior and Safety plans to select about five outstanding projects and support their advancement and institutional adoption in collaboration with professional consultants.

Hwang Kyucheol, Director General of the AI Government Office at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, stated, "Ultimately, the transition to AI in the public sector depends on the capabilities of front-line public officials," and added, "We will support new AI Champion challengers to grow into hub leaders who drive the AI transition within their institutions."

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