Annual 12,000 Calls → AI Takes Over... Gangnam-gu Introduces AI for Regular Welfare Blind Spot Surveys

Reducing Initial Consultation Time to Focus on In-Depth Counseling
Participation in the Pilot Project of the 'AI-Based Initial Consultation System for Identifying Welfare Blind Spots'

View of Gangnam District Office.

Gangnam-gu, Seoul (District Mayor Jo Seong-myeong) announced on the 7th that it is introducing artificial intelligence (AI) in the initial consultations of its regular surveys to identify welfare blind spots.

The regular surveys are conducted six times a year, with an average of about 2,000 people surveyed each time. Until now, public officials at community centers have individually called the subjects to conduct the initial consultations. However, by introducing AI consultations for gathering basic information during the initial consultations, work efficiency has been greatly improved.

The AI consultation is a scenario-based interactive Q&A. When a call comes to the main number, the process proceeds as follows: ① Call initiation ② Greeting and identity verification ③ Crisis assessment ④ Needs confirmation ⑤ Guidance for additional consultation and termination ⑥ Transmission of consultation results.

Public officials can check the AI initial consultation results through the welfare information system and focus on in-depth consultations. The district is participating in the second pilot project of the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s ‘AI Utilization for Initial Consultations to Identify Welfare Blind Spots.’

The regular surveys to identify welfare blind spots determine the survey targets by combining subjects extracted from the government’s Happy e-um system big data with local government subjects considering regional characteristics. The surveys are conducted every two months, six times a year. The district started the 4th survey (1,971 people) this month. Initial and in-depth consultations are conducted with the subjects, and crisis households are identified and linked to social security benefits and private services for support.

Earlier, since November last year, the district partnered with Naver Cloud to proactively implement an interactive AI check-in service targeting 850 households at risk of solitary death.

District Mayor Jo Seong-myeong stated, “We expect to identify crisis households more quickly through AI-based consultations,” and added, “We will actively utilize AI technology as well as the infrastructure and resources of related organizations to build a dense welfare safety net.”