The Data Big Bang Begins... Public and Private Data Unite under "Big Square Union Plus"

Business Agreement Signed on the 26th to Promote Data Platform Operations
by Nine Institutions Including KIOST

An 'ultra-large' consortium set to reshape South Korea's data ecosystem is launching.

The Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology (President Lee Heeseung, KIOST) will sign a "business agreement to promote data platform operations" and host a related symposium on November 26 at Busan Urban Corporation Arpina, located in Haeundae-gu, Busan, together with the Korea Transport Institute (President Kim Youngchan), Korea Expressway Corporation (President Ham Jingyu), Korea Forestry Promotion Institute (President Choi Muyeol), Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation (President Hong Moonpyo), Korea Culture Information Service Agency (President Jeong Unhyeon), Korea Real Estate Board (President Son Taerak), Korea Land and Geospatial Informatix Corporation (President Eo Myeongso), and Korea Maritime Institute (President Cho Jeonghee).

This business agreement aims to create a data ecosystem by sharing standardized, high-quality data held by each institution and activating related projects based on this data.

The agreement includes a variety of collaborative initiatives, such as: ▲ joint events and operations to vitalize the platform, ▲ identification and cooperation on policy tasks, and ▲ cooperation with government and related organizations to implement national data policies.

Since 2019, the Ministry of Science and ICT and the National Information Society Agency (NIA) have supported the establishment of sector-specific big data platforms and centers, resulting in a total of 21 platforms (including coastal, finance, and fire safety) by 2024.

Among these, five sectors-transportation, forestry, agri-food, environment, and distribution/consumption-formed the nation's first big data platform consortium, "Big Square Union," through a business agreement in 2021.

This new business agreement aims to further expand this collaborative foundation by including institutions from new sectors such as maritime affairs and culture, thereby strengthening the network among national data platforms. As a result, the existing "Big Square Union" will be reorganized and relaunched as the more advanced "Big Square Union Plus."

Participating institutions include: Coastal (Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology), Transportation (Korea Transport Institute, Korea Expressway Corporation), Forestry (Korea Forestry Promotion Institute), Agri-food (Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation), Spatial Convergence (Korea Land and Geospatial Informatix Corporation), Real Estate (Korea Real Estate Board), Culture (Korea Culture Information Service Agency), and Maritime Affairs (Korea Maritime Institute).

At the symposium following the agreement ceremony, the following topics will be shared: ▲ The role and direction of Big Square Union in expanding the public data and AI collaboration ecosystem (by Lee Soongbong, Associate Research Fellow at Korea Transport Institute), ▲ Outstanding data cases for high-demand carbon neutrality and innovative services (by Choi Jaewon, Researcher at Ecoeye), ▲ Achievements and future development directions of the Coastal Big Data Platform (by Lee Cheolyong, Head of Marine Big Data & AI Center at KIOST), and ▲ Cases of discovering public-private partnership-driven digital agri-food services that resonate with citizens (by Kim Kyunghwa, Head of Big Data Business Division at Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation), among other major activities and best practices in data utilization this year.

KIOST, centered on its Marine Big Data & AI Center, is leading the way in opening and sharing ocean information by building and operating the "Coastal Big Data Platform," which publicly provides a total of 452 types of climate change and coastal environment data.

Based on this data, KIOST also operates various public services, such as the immersive educational content "City in Crisis," the marine environment protection crowdsourcing service "Bada Ggumui Nal," and the coastal erosion time-series visualization service "YeonanON."

Lee Heeseung, President of KIOST, stated, "To become one of the top three AI powers, both the public and private sectors must cooperate to open and efficiently utilize data, strengthening our data management capabilities." He added, "We will continue to provide marine science data to the public quickly and accurately, striving for KIOST to grow as a value-creating platform for marine science and technology."