"Using Data, Easier with AI" Open Survey CEO Awarded Prime Minister's Commendation

Selected as Model Female Entrepreneur of the Year
Launched SaaS Platform 'DataSpace'
Data Analysis and Privacy Protection with AI Technology

Hwang Hee-young, CEO of Open Survey. Photo by Heo Young-han younghan@

Hwang Hee-young, CEO of the data analysis specialist company Open Survey for over eight years (photo), was recently selected as a model female entrepreneur and received a Prime Minister's Commendation. She was recognized for her contributions to the development of the industrial ecosystem through technological innovation, increasing employment with a women-friendly corporate culture, and setting an example of sound entrepreneurial spirit. Her greatest effort was expanding the utilization base of data.

In an interview with Asia Economy on the 31st of last month, CEO Hwang said, "I have been steadily working to lower the hurdles of collecting and interpreting data," adding, "We aim for a data ecosystem where not only data experts but also marketers and customer service representatives can understand user needs and propose improvement plans." In other words, she sought to enhance overall 'data literacy' so that companies can conduct business and make decisions based on data.

CEO Hwang stated, "Korea is a country with a high level of education and a broad talent pool, making it well-suited to utilize data effectively," and added, "Although it may be unfamiliar at first, AI-based analytical technologies are gradually solving these challenges." She predicted, "In the future, even tasks such as planning who to target and what data to collect and how will be assisted by AI."

To this end, Open Survey launched the ‘DataSpace’ platform last December, a Software as a Service (SaaS) that allows companies to directly collect and analyze their own data. Currently, more than 100 client companies are using it. SK Magic, which operates a home appliance rental service, collects customer survey data to receive feedback on products and uses it in the stages of generating new ideas or planning new products. Yuhan-Kimberly also applied DataSpace to its own mall ‘MamQ,’ which sells baby products. They actively collect opinions from mothers using MamQ to develop new products and improve the usability of their mall.

CEO Hwang said, "The number of client companies wanting to directly investigate and analyze user satisfaction with their services is increasing," and added, "Especially recently, there has been a growing demand to analyze customers' thoughts, emotions, and subjective feelings more richly than just multiple-choice responses." In such cases, classifying and understanding tens of thousands of responses used to require considerable time and cost, but now AI-based technology automatically classifies topics and quantifies them, reducing the effort.

Since personal information protection is essential in the data industry, a dedicated team was assigned. Last year, Open Survey obtained the Information Security Management System-Personal Information Protection (ISMS-P) certification and was re-certified last month. CEO Hwang explained, "Open Survey cannot view the data collected by client companies, and protection measures such as automatic data destruction after a certain period have been implemented."

Open Survey aims for an annual recurring revenue (ARR) of 1 million dollars and plans to launch overseas services targeting the Japanese and U.S. markets from the second half of the year. Preparations such as establishing personal information protection measures required by each country, multilingual support, and client acquisition are underway. CEO Hwang expressed her ambition, saying, "The value of data increases as the population is large, the area is wide, and consumer needs are diverse, as in the U.S. and Japan," and added, "We will redevelop the product to suit the data utilization methods of overseas clients and introduce a global version of ‘DataSpace.’"