LOFA Wins Grand Prix at Korea AI Innovation Awards, Leads Public Sector AX

AI Strategy Department to Launch in 2026
Advancing as an Intelligent Specialist Organization
Through Development of Customized LOFA AI
Two AI Patents Filed for Outdoor Advertisement Detection

The Korea Local Finance Association (LOFA), led by Chairman Seonyong Jeong (hereafter referred to as "the Association"), announced on May 12 that it was awarded the highest honor, the "Grand Prix," at the 2nd Korea Artificial Intelligence Innovation Awards held on May 11, in recognition of its groundbreaking work innovation using AI technology and its contribution to enhancing public AI services.

Junsun Yong, Chairman of the Korea Local Finance Association. Provided by Korea Local Finance Association

This award represents external validation of the Association’s ongoing AI innovation initiatives and the excellence of its “LOFA AI Master Plan and Mid-to-Long-Term Roadmap.” The Association received high praise from the evaluation committee, being cited as a core public sector institution leading not just simple digital transformation, but a full-scale AI transformation (AX).

All-Staff Participation "AI Innovation Task Force" Launched and 5-Year Master Plan Completed

To directly capture voices from the field, the Association launched the “LOFA AI Innovation Task Force” in July 2025, comprising participation from all staff members.

Centered around three divisions—Planning & Management, Business Innovation, and AI & Infrastructure—organized into five teams, the task force generated 84 ideas reflecting real on-site work experiences. Through consultations with external experts and collective brainstorming by all staff divisions, the Association selected the top 10 key AI implementation tasks and established a five-year “LOFA AI Master Plan and Mid-to-Long-Term Roadmap” extending through 2030.

To establish sustainable AI innovation governance, the Association reorganized its existing structure by expanding it into the “AI Strategy Department,” thereby elevating its AI control tower. In addition, the Association is proactively securing budgets and advancing the 2026 LOFA AI implementation project plan.

The Association has also provided all executives and staff with enterprise generative AI services to boost everyday work productivity, and successfully established an “AI literacy” organizational culture by promoting company-wide AI education and encouraging participation in AI conferences, enabling employees to redesign their workflow using AI.

Participants at the kickoff report meeting for the first phase of the Korean Local Finance Association LOFA AI project held on April 29 are taking a commemorative photo. Provided by the Korean Local Finance Association

LOFA AI Customized for the Association and Establishment of State-of-the-Art Security Infrastructure

Beginning in the first half of 2026, the Association will develop two core agents for practical implementation. These include the “Public Fund Intelligent Response System,” which uses Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) technology to provide precise answers within the bounds of internal regulations and terms, and the “AI Claims Adjuster,” which extracts key information from natural language accident reports to offer compensation simulations.

In the second half of the year, the Association plans to further advance organization-wide business-specific agents, such as automated voucher generation for asset management, insights extraction from statistical reports, and an AI solution for interpreting outdoor advertising laws and regulations.

Two AI Patents for Public Safety Acquired through Industry-Academic Collaboration

The Association’s innovation extends beyond internal work efficiency to tangible solutions for social issues. In joint research with Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), the Association developed a smart administration technology enabling AI to detect advertisements installed on walls or rooftops and automatically calculate their specifications.

As a result, the Association filed two patents: “Apparatus and Method for Managing Outdoor Advertisements” and “Method for Generating Robust 3D Maps against Viewpoint Changes.” These achievements are expected to enable proactive management of public safety by swiftly addressing illegal advertisements, while significantly reducing administrative workforce and budgets for local governments.

Attendees of the 2025 LOFA AI Work Innovation Proclamation Ceremony held on July 23 last year are taking a commemorative photo. The fifth person from the left is Jeong Seonyong, Chairman of the Korea Local Finance Association. Provided by the Korea Local Finance Association.

Chairman Seonyong Jeong of the Association stated, “This award at the Korea Artificial Intelligence Innovation Awards is a valuable result achieved through the voluntary commitment and proactive spirit of our frontline staff. We will continue to lead balanced regional development and dramatically enhance the quality of public services by successfully building and advancing the LOFA AI system, aiming to become a cutting-edge, AI-driven local finance specialist institution.”

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