[Comprehensive] "Digital is a Universal Right... Enact the 'Digital Inclusion Act' to Ensure Accessibility"

Ministry of Science and ICT Holds 8th Digital National Agenda On-site Meeting Series
Discussing Solutions to Digital Blind Spots for Vulnerable Groups

Park Yoon-gyu, the 2nd Vice Minister of the Ministry of Science and ICT, is attending the 8th Digital National Agenda Continuous On-site Meeting held on the 30th afternoon at Seoul Central Post Office in Jung-gu, Seoul, with the theme "Digital Inclusion Policy Direction for Vulnerable Groups," and is taking a commemorative photo. Photo by Ministry of Science and ICT

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Su-yeon] The government is taking steps to expand digital accessibility for vulnerable groups left in the blind spots of digital technology. Viewing digital technology as a universal right, it plans to support not only systems but also technology development.

On the 30th, Park Yoon-kyu, the 2nd Vice Minister of the Ministry of Science and ICT, held the 8th consecutive on-site meeting for digital national tasks at the Seoul Central Post Office.

This meeting was organized to communicate with field personnel and experts to check the difficulties of households suspected to be in welfare blind spots and to discuss various solutions to social problems, including alleviating difficulties in local welfare sites. Related companies such as EverYoung People, XVision Technology, Kakao, Naver, KT, and related organizations including the Korean Senior Citizens Association, Korea National Council on Social Welfare, and Korea Health Industry Development Institute participated.

The Ministry of Science and ICT has been continuously collecting field opinions since June to effectively implement digital national tasks. This meeting was the eighth in the series, held under the theme "Establishing Digital Universal Rights and Access Rights for an Inclusive Digital Society."

At the meeting, the Ministry introduced the "Welfare Registered Mail" postal project, which utilizes the densely established postal infrastructure nationwide to discover and resolve welfare blind spots and contribute to strengthening the social safety net.

This project involves postal workers visiting households suspected to be in blind spots, delivering welfare benefit information mail, checking for crisis situations, and reporting to local governments to provide proactive support to the target households. It is currently being implemented in three local governments including Jongno-gu, Seoul, and plans to expand to eight throughout the year.

Woo Bo-hwan, head of the Korean Senior Citizens Association, suggested the need for digital education and job creation to support the social and economic independence of the elderly. He said, "Education is the most important to ensure that the elderly can also enjoy convenient and good digital services. If education is conducted through senior-centered organizations and welfare groups, the digital blind spots will disappear, and many elderly people will feel familiar with and easily access digital services."

There was an opinion that companies, government, and local governments should pool their capabilities to actively use information and communication technologies (ICT) such as artificial intelligence (AI) to prevent vulnerable groups from falling into danger.

Ok Chang-hoon, Vice President of Naver, emphasized that digital technology such as care calls using AI speakers can provide care services for vulnerable groups amid aging and increasing single-person households.

Ok said, "The function where AI remembers and asks again about the elderly's pain points and recommends treatment is very popular. For isolated individuals disconnected from social systems and services, support should be provided not only in welfare but also in medical care and education. Local governments also need to share data across departments and connect with medical institutions."

Currently, Naver provides AI speaker services to 10,000 vulnerable people including elderly living alone. In addition, SK Telecom provides AI care services to 14,000 elderly living alone and disabled people in cooperation with 74 institutions and local governments nationwide, and KT has distributed about 2,500 AI speakers for elderly care services.

Shin Hyung-chul, director at the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI), presented human augmentation technology that enhances the physical and cognitive abilities of people with disabilities. Discussions were also held on ensuring information accessibility for intelligent information products such as web, apps, and kiosks. Shin said, "They should be supported to engage in productive activities as members of the digital socio-economy, not just as care recipients."

Following this, participants engaged in discussions. Kim Ji-hoon, Vice President of Eltove, said, "Although barrier-free kiosks are being distributed under government leadership, they inevitably cost more than existing devices because they include voice, Braille, and sign language services. The private sector hesitates to adopt them. I think if there were vouchers or institutional support in the private sector, activation would be possible. We need to consider not only technology but also distribution."

Kim Hye-il, Kakao's Digital Accessibility Officer (DAO), said, "When creating digital services, the policy should include a clause that guarantees accessibility to provide better services to digitally marginalized groups." While global companies like Microsoft and Apple actively develop accessibility technologies and incorporate them into services, Korea tends to respond hastily only after new technologies emerge and accessibility issues arise among people with disabilities.

There was also an opinion that care services using digital technology could become an opportunity to expand new businesses beyond ESG (environmental, social, and governance) management. Kim Tae-young, Executive Director at KT, suggested, "If there are tax benefits or policy support, the silver market will grow and various business opportunities will arise. If the industrial ecosystem is revitalized, it could be an opportunity for elderly care services to spread rapidly."

Vice Minister Park said, "Digital has served as a growth engine so far. Now is an important time to consider how the benefits of technological progress can reach many people and to pursue digital inclusion that supports socially vulnerable groups left in blind spots. We will guarantee digital as a universal right that all citizens should enjoy and strive to ensure that anyone can access digital anytime and anywhere to enjoy its benefits. We will also conduct a comprehensive review to establish laws and institutional support such as the Digital Inclusion Act and formulate technology development policies for this purpose."