Wonju City Elects AI Committee Chairman...Formalizes Expert-Centered AI Governance

Establishing a Dual Governance Structure:
AI Committee Designs, AI Task Force Executes

Wonju City in Gangwon Province has formalized the operation of its AI Committee, which was established last month to systematically advance its strategy of becoming a digital healthcare AI hub, by electing a chairman for the committee.

Wonju City formed an AI Committee last month and elected Professor Inho Ko from the Department of Computer Science at Korea University as the chairman. Photo by Wonju City

The AI Committee is a body directly under the mayor that provides advice on Wonju City's AI policies and the mid- to long-term direction of the digital healthcare sector. It is composed of experts from various fields, including medical and healthcare, public medical data, AI and digital twins, and industrial policy.

Beyond simply serving as an advisory body during the policy implementation process, the committee is tasked with offering expert discussions on the direction and prioritization of AI-related policies.

At the most recent meeting, Professor Inho Ko from the Department of Computer Science at Korea University was elected as chairman of the AI Committee. As chairman, he will represent the committee, lead discussions on Wonju City's overall AI policies, and provide advice on major AI policies and projects, especially those centered on digital healthcare.

The committee members include: Boseok Kang, Associate Professor at the SKKU Advanced Institute of Nano Technology at Sungkyunkwan University; Sunpyo Guk, Head of the Big Data Division at the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service; Kisoo Kim, Head of Artificial Intelligence at the National Health Insurance Service; Juhyun Park, Head of R&D Center at Neobiotech Co., Ltd.; Youngjin Yang, CEO of Korea Digital Twin Research Institute; Hyungwon Yoo, Professor at Bundang Seoul National University Hospital; Sajung Yoon, Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Johns Hopkins University; Juseok Lee, Research Professor at Yonsei University Mirae Campus; Junyoung Lee, Head of CHA Healthcare; Youngsam Jeon, Lead of Wallet Platform at LINE+; Hyungil Jeong, Professor of Bioinformatics at Yonsei University; Younghee Jo, President of Wonju Institute of Future Industry Promotion; Wonyoung Jo, Head of SW-based Policy Talent Research at Software Policy & Research Institute; and Donghoon Hwang, Head of Strategy Planning at Wonju Medical Device Industry Promotion Institute.

Wonju City is also operating an AI Task Force, composed mainly of internal working-level teams, to link the discussions of the AI Committee to policy and administrative review processes.

The AI Task Force is responsible for administrative functions at the implementation stage, such as planning AI-related policies, facilitating interdepartmental collaboration, responding to national projects, and reviewing demonstration and linkage projects. It supports the incorporation of the committee's discussions into actual policy and administrative processes.

Through these efforts, Wonju City has established a dual structure in which the AI Committee is responsible for strategic advice and the AI Task Force is responsible for execution and coordination. The city plans to hold the first official AI Committee meeting this month to continue policy discussions.

Won Kangsu, Mayor of Wonju, stated, "The AI Committee is an organization where experts from various fields come together to discuss the direction of Wonju City's AI policies and the digital healthcare sector," and added, "We will ensure that the committee's discussions are faithfully reflected in administrative reviews and policy processes."