"We will accelerate infrastructure development and workforce training to discover new businesses in the garden industry and nurture them as new growth engines."
Shim Sang-taek, chairman of the Korea National Arboretum and Gardens Institute (KoAGI), made the remarks in an interview with Seoul Economic Daily on the 17th. "We are operating a task force to establish the National Garden Materials Center in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, targeting its opening next year, and plan to discover approximately 110 garden material varieties by the end of next year," he said.
"The National Garden Culture Center, which officially opened in Damyang, North Jeolla Province last September, trained a total of 22,000 students within three months of opening," Shim said. "We will expand training to 23,000 people through programs including the Garden Master course, ecological transition gardening, and career education in the garden field."
KoAGI has also established a roadmap to develop 300 garden material varieties by 2030 and plans to build a cooperation network with 333 domestic and foreign companies.
Shim, a Korea Forest Service veteran regarded as a convergence expert with 34 years of experience spanning forestry, economics, and administration, has redefined the institution's future role and operational direction since taking office while establishing an AI and digital strategy system for AI transformation.
"We aim to build an intelligent arboretum operation management system based on AI and digital twin technology," Shim said. "From this year through 2030, we have established the 'GROW' framework—Green AI, Responsive Real-time Service, Optimized Operation, and Wise Data—as our five-year AI transformation strategy."
The institution will build an integrated forest biological resources platform and advance AI-based seed quality management and drone-based ecosystem monitoring. It will provide real-time services that citizens can experience through AI agent-based customized tour guides and immersive exhibition content.
The AI digital twin safety platform introduced last year is considered one of the top innovation achievements of 2025. The system links 31 AI CCTV cameras with autonomous drones to detect fires, falls, crowd congestion, and unauthorized intrusions in real time. Visitor safety accidents decreased 85.7% from seven cases to one case last year, and construction sites achieved zero serious disasters. These achievements earned the institution a commendation from the Minister of Science and ICT last year.
The AI digital twin safety platform will realize innovation management based on high-quality data through ERP and EIS advancement, blockchain-based performance certification, and Open API expansion from zero to six cases.
"To pursue AI and digital strategies, we strengthened the dedicated control tower role for AI transformation by expanding and reorganizing the existing Digital Information Office into the AI Digital Innovation Office," Shim said. "To enhance employee AI capabilities, we plan to operate the 'AI Academy' 12 times by the end of this year and invest 300 million won in digitalizing web-based reservation and payment system processes."
Shim also emphasized field-centered management innovation and communication that citizens can feel. "To communicate with citizens and stakeholders in the field, I visited arboretum sites nationwide 64 times last year and immediately improved problems discovered on-site through the 'LTE Framework'—Listen, Talk, Enhance," he said.
"After taking office in 2024, I conducted safety inspections of affiliated arboreta and determined that introducing a 'safety reporting system' was urgent, so I immediately implemented it," he said. "In 2025, we newly operated a QR code-based safety reporting system for real-time reporting and feedback. Reports increased significantly from 22 cases in 2024 to 84 cases in 2025, and we completed improvement measures for 83 cases (98.8%)."
Shim added that to communicate with citizens including the MZ generation, executives and employees directly appeared in seven Reels short-form videos. "As a result, the labor-management communication index rose from 7.7 to 7.9 points, and we have maintained nine consecutive years without labor disputes," he said.
KoAGI introduced an AI-powered settlement simplification system last year, dramatically reducing business trip expense processing time from 20 minutes to 2 minutes—a 90% reduction. The introduction of a smart automatic irrigation system also reduced field staff overtime by 26%, from 12.7 hours to 9.4 hours.
The institution also operates programs including "Link the KoAGI" for communication across ranks, "reverse mentoring" where junior staff mentor seniors, and "Sprout Letters" for sharing messages of gratitude—all with employee participation and leadership from the chairman.
Shim is also committed to coexistence with local communities through programs such as "The-Shium."
"'The-Shium' aims to address low birthrates and resolve social isolation and cultural marginalization," Shim said. "In partnership with the Ministry of Health and Welfare's 'Mobile Obstetrics Clinic,' we operated nine sessions of companion plant-making experience education for pregnant women and vulnerable groups. A total of 491 people participated, and the satisfaction survey scored 98.8 points. The program received UNESCO ESD (Education for Sustainable Development) certification and the Minister of SMEs and Startups Award."
KoAGI developed a regional coexistence model operating in a virtuous cycle of "contract farming-exhibition-sales." Through contract cultivation of native plants with local farms, 890,000 plants were produced, bringing local farm income to 2.12 billion won—a 28.5% increase from the previous year.
Applying this regional coexistence model to local festivals such as the Bongja Festival resulted in regional economic ripple effects of 58.3 billion won—36.5 billion won from the National Sejong Arboretum and 21.8 billion won from the National Baekdudaegan Arboretum.
KoAGI is actively engaged in forest damage conservation and restoration activities.
"The large-scale wildfires centered on North and South Gyeongsang provinces in 2025 became an opportunity to reaffirm KoAGI's reason for existence," Shim said. "Through public-private cooperation, we restored a total of 80 hectares of wildfire-damaged areas and planted 116,121 native plants."
"Twenty companies and 4,500 citizens participated in forest damage restoration, and we secured 4.5 billion won in ESG-based donations," he added. "In Andong, North Gyeongsang Province, a wildfire-affected area, we newly established 55 healing gardens to support the psychological recovery of disaster victims."
A total of 79 people participated in healing camps. This innovative public-private cooperation model was selected as one of the top 10 best practices at the FAO and UNEP's "Second World Ecosystem Restoration Conference" and received the Minister of Public Administration and Security Award.
KoAGI is also dedicated to biodiversity conservation and restoration activities utilizing domestic and international networks.
"Last year, the key role of the Baekdudaegan Global Seed Vault was adopted as an IUCN resolution, establishing its international status as a global hub for climate crisis plant conservation," Shim said. "Based on close cooperation with 58 institutions worldwide, the overseas seed conservation rate at the Baekdudaegan Global Seed Vault rose significantly from 58.7% in 2024 to 60.0% in 2025."
Since last year, the SIDS pilot project "Seed Conservation Project for Submergence-Risk Countries" has been simultaneously promoted in three countries—Fiji, Samoa, and the Dominican Republic—actively supporting the protection of biological sovereignty in climate-vulnerable regions.
Since taking office, Shim has also actively worked to establish the institution's future role and reset its strategic direction.
"The existing mission had limitations in establishing a future role, so I introduced a chairman-led 'Two-Track' mid-term review and performance review feedback system and established the institution's mission as 'Sustainable expansion of arboretum and garden values for everyone's happiness,'" Shim said. "We elevated our vision to 'K-Arboretum and Garden Global Hub,' embodying our management commitment to work with the world beyond Korea."