Namyangju City Wins Grand Prize at 'Public Sector Drone Competition'

Awarded the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Prize for Enhancing Public Administration Efficiency and Promoting Social Value

Namyangju City, Gyeonggi Province (Mayor Joo Gwang-deok) announced on the 15th that it won the Grand Prize, the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Award, at the ‘2024 Public Sector Drone Utilization Best Practice Competition’ held at the Korea Transportation Safety Authority Drone Education Center on the 13th.

Namyangju City won the Grand Prize, the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Award, at the "2024 Public Sector Drone Utilization Best Practice Competition" held on the 13th. Photo by Namyangju City

The competition was hosted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and organized by TS Korea Transportation Safety Authority, with a total of 44 teams and 140 participants from national agencies, local governments, and public institutions competing in best practice presentations and drone piloting skills.

Namyangju City presented a case titled ‘Tracking and Monitoring Illegal Burial Facilities Using Drones’ in the best practice presentation category.

The city was honored with the Grand Prize in recognition of its achievement as the first local government nationwide in 2022 to conduct surveillance and tracking of illegal burial facilities using drones, establishing an efficient inspection system through the drone’s automatic flight function.

In particular, by utilizing the drone’s automatic flight function, the average inspection time was reduced to 5 minutes, shortening on-site inspection time by more than 95%, significantly improving personnel safety.

Additionally, by securing high-resolution drone data, the city expanded its application to various fields such as △management of public and communal cemeteries within the jurisdiction △improvement of funeral culture policies, and enhanced the accuracy of responses to illegal activities through 3D imaging functions, thereby increasing the efficiency of public administration and budget savings.

Based on the accumulated drone utilization data, the city is contributing to the improvement of burial culture and the development of a smart administrative model, and plans to take the lead in sharing and cooperating with other local governments using this know-how and data.

Han Hye-jung, Director of the Senior Welfare Division, said, “This award is a meaningful result of our city’s efforts and innovation,” and added, “We expect that our city’s case will serve as a good example for other local governments.”