The Korea Data Agency will expand its living population statistics coverage to 107 regions and extend data analysis services at its statistics data centers to 24 hours. The agency will also publish, for the first time, regional supply-use tables that show the movement of goods and services between regions, broadening the statistical foundation for balanced development policies.
Ahn Hyung-jun, commissioner of the Korea Data Agency, said in a report on the first-year achievements of the People's Sovereignty Government on Tuesday, "Data is the source of national competitiveness and a key national asset." He added, "We will accelerate data innovation and actively support national issues through diverse data linkage and utilization."
To address regional decline, the Korea Data Agency has expanded the number of regions covered by living population statistics from 89 to 107. "To support balanced regional development and respond to the risk of regional extinction, we have newly developed and released regional exchange statistics that show inter-regional movement," Ahn said. "We have also expanded the regions covered by living population calculations to support balanced regional development and regional economic revitalization policies."
The data analysis environment will also be improved. Starting this month, the Korea Data Agency will introduce artificial intelligence (AI) technology at its statistics data centers to support data analysis during nights and weekends. "Previously, the statistics data centers could only support analysis on-site, but now they can support analysis at night and on weekends without system relocation," Ahn said. "We have also expanded statistical information services so that the public can easily utilize data."
The agency is also moving forward with linking data scattered across ministries. On September 27, the Korea Data Agency submitted a draft of the National Data Framework Act to the National Assembly. "Currently, public data is managed by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, industrial data by the Ministry of Science and ICT, and personal information by the Personal Information Protection Commission," Ahn said. "If we designate national data and establish special provisions so that it can be actually utilized, national tax, employment, and welfare data held by each ministry can be more easily linked and used."
The agency is also pursuing the maintenance of statistical data tailored to the AI era. "Currently, AI judges statistics and technical figures based on text, so statistical errors often occur," Ahn said. "We will build AI-friendly metadata so that AI can accurately read and interpret statistical data." To reduce concerns over personal information raised in the process of data use and combination, the agency will also introduce new protection technologies such as homomorphic encryption and synthetic data.
Policy-tailored integrated data will also be expanded. Following the construction of small and medium-sized enterprise lifecycle data in November of last year, the agency plans to build integrated data on the elderly, the deceased, and homeowners by the end of this year. "Once the service begins, it will help establish various policies, including responses to a super-aged society, suicide prevention, and real estate policy," Ahn said.
