The Ministry of Science and ICT and the National Information Society Agency are holding the ‘AI·Digital-Based Social Problem-Solving Challenge’ so that any citizen can step up to address climate disasters and regional and youth issues. Applications will be accepted online from Aug. 21 to Sept. 30, with the 10 final teams to be honored in December.
 [코리안투데이] Poster for the AI·Digital-Based Social Problem-Solving Challenge © 장형임 기자 |
The Ministry of Science and ICT (Deputy Prime Minister and Minister Bae Kyung-hoon) and the National Information Society Agency (President Kim Hyung-chul) announced that they will host the ‘2026 AI·Digital-Based Social Problem-Solving Challenge.’
The competition opens up private cloud resources — secured for responding to national crises — to the public, and is designed so that anyone interested in tackling climate disasters such as torrential rain, as well as regional and youth issues, can propose an idea and build it into an actual AI or digital service. Its significance lies in widening the path for ordinary citizens, who best understand the everyday inconveniences around them, to create their own solutions, rather than leaving it solely to experts or development firms.
The competition is divided into a service development division and an idea discovery division. Participants in the service development division will build AI and digital services in forms such as mobile apps. During the application period, the Ministry of Science and ICT will support the use of private cloud services and will hold an offline expert mentoring event in October. Cloud usage fees will be supported for one of three providers — Naver, NHN, or KT Cloud — though this may change depending on the organizers’ circumstances. Notably, starting this year, AI agent development tools will be provided on the private cloud, along with support for service development through vibe coding.
Participants in the idea discovery division may submit digital service ideas in a free format, including proposals with a user interface (UI). Among those who pass the written review, applicants who wish to do so will be matched with citizen developers, giving them the experience of turning their own ideas into reality.
Individuals or teams of up to four who wish to take part may choose one of the two divisions and apply online from Aug. 21 to Sept. 30. After three rounds of review from October through December, 10 outstanding entries will be selected at the end of the year — seven in the service development division and three in the idea discovery division.
The total prize pool is about 28 million won, and the grand prize winner in each division will receive an award from the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and ICT. The grand prize team in the service development division will additionally receive up to 2 million won to cover participation costs for a global citizen developer event.
Hong Sung-wan, Director-General for Information and Communications Policy at the Ministry of Science and ICT, said, ‘A flood-response idea proposed through a past edition of this competition was actually implemented through public-private cooperation with the relevant ministries and navigation companies, and it is now helping to protect people’s lives.’ He added, ‘Through the active participation of citizens with fresh ideas and development skills, we hope to see a wide range of AI and digital services that solve social problems, just like the flood-response service.’
Details such as the competition schedule and how to apply can be found on the public-private cooperation support platform (digitalsolveup.kr).
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