Data is the oil of the AI era. No matter how advanced an AI system is, it cannot function without quality data for learning, and the quality of data directly determines the quality of AI. South Korea has amassed a vast amount of data that is rare globally within its government and public institutions, but this data is scattered across various departments, with differing formats and quality. Connecting this data and making it readable for AI is crucial for South Korea's leap to becoming a leading AI nation.
At the center of this effort is Ahn Hyung-jun, the head of the National Data Agency.
If you ask many people what the core of AI competition is, they might think of semiconductors, GPUs, data centers, and large language models. However, the most fundamental resource driving AI is data. High-quality data increases the likelihood of accurate results, while poor data can lead to incorrect judgments. Ultimately, the competitiveness of AI is tied to the competitiveness of data. This is a point emphasized by Ahn Hyung-jun, who argues that simply possessing a large amount of data is insufficient; it must be structured in a way that AI can understand and utilize. To create a strong AI nation, South Korea must first become a country that AI can read.
Data in South Korea is widely dispersed among government ministries, local governments, public institutions, and private companies. The National Tax Service manages tax data, the Ministry of Health and Welfare oversees welfare data, the National Health Insurance Service handles medical data, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport manages real estate and transportation data, the Ministry of Employment and Labor oversees job data, and the Ministry of Education manages educational data, each in isolation. There are barriers between departmental data, and management standards vary. However, the value of data increases as it becomes more interconnected.
By linking income and welfare data, the government can more accurately identify citizens in need of assistance. Connecting medical and health data can help predict disease risks, while integrating population, transportation, and industry data can refine policies for regional extinction and balanced development. Ahn Hyung-jun's initiative for a comprehensive government data governance aims to manage and connect all of South Korea's data at a national level. In the AI era, the government must transition from being a data-holding entity to a data-connecting entity.
New systems are needed for a new era. Currently, South Korea's data is managed by sector, limiting the ability to systematically understand the nation as a whole. This is why Ahn Hyung-jun emphasizes the need for a National Data Basic Law.
This law would help identify what data the government holds, designate important data, manage quality, support inter-departmental data utilization, and create an ecosystem for safely connecting public and private data.
A plan is also underway to establish a National Data Committee to oversee and coordinate government-wide data policies. Data should be systematically managed as a crucial national asset, akin to land, resources, capital, and technology.
Having a lot of data does not guarantee effective AI operation. For AI to understand data, it requires metadata that explains when, who, and under what criteria the data was created, what it means, and how it connects to other data. This is why Ahn Hyung-jun emphasizes the construction of AI-friendly national metadata. Organizing fragmented data, correcting errors, and standardizing criteria to convert it into AI-Ready Data is a priority that must come before developing new models.
Issues such as low birth rates, aging populations, regional extinction, youth unemployment, and housing problems cannot be solved with data from a single department. The low birth rate issue requires looking at income, housing, education, and job data together, while the aging society issue necessitates connecting medical, welfare, income, and housing data. The regional extinction problem requires analyzing population, industry, transportation, and resident data collectively. This is why Ahn Hyung-jun emphasizes the development of policy-customized fusion data. By analyzing this fusion data, AI can enhance the accuracy of policies, shifting government strategies from intuition and experience to data-driven and scientific approaches. The goal of the AI data revolution is not merely to collect vast amounts of data but to enhance the nation's problem-solving capabilities.
AI is also changing the way statistics are produced. In the statistical production process, which includes investigation, collection, classification, error checking, analysis, and reporting, AI can automatically classify vast amounts of data, identify anomalies, and connect various data to create new statistics. This is the core of the National Statistics AX initiative that Ahn Hyung-jun is promoting. Rather than replacing statistical experts, AI supports repetitive tasks, allowing humans to focus on more critical analysis and judgment, marking a transition from digital statistical administration to AI statistical administration.
The National Statistics Portal could also evolve. When citizens ask questions like, “How much has our local youth population decreased?” in everyday language, AI would understand the meaning, find the necessary statistics, analyze them, and explain them in an easily understandable manner. The National Statistics Portal is evolving from a simple statistics search site into a citizen's AI data assistant. At the same time, new statistics must be developed to accurately capture new phenomena such as the AI industry, robotics, platform labor, and demographic changes. Accurate statistics are the compass for national management.
Whereas national competitiveness in the past stemmed from territory, resources, capital, and technology, in the AI era, data is the new asset. Ahn Hyung-jun emphasizes that data should be viewed as a national asset and a matter of sovereignty. Data should not be seen merely as a byproduct of administration but as a strategic asset that requires systematic management and investment. Safely connecting private data, such as mobile data from telecommunications companies, consumption data from credit card companies, and search and usage data from platform companies, can create new value that more accurately reflects reality, such as population statistics.
However, it is essential to protect personal information and recognize the value of data created through corporate investment. The challenge is to create a data market where both public and private sectors can grow together, rather than advocating for unconditional openness.
As more data is connected, the importance of personal information protection increases. The government must address citizens' concerns about who accesses their data, how it is used, and how AI makes judgments about them. Data utilization and personal information protection are not mutually exclusive; they must go hand in hand, utilizing technologies such as pseudonymized information, homomorphic encryption, and synthetic data.
A government that citizens can trust is stronger than one that merely possesses a lot of data. Trust is the most crucial infrastructure for data utilization. The role of public officials must also change. They need the ability to read data, utilize AI, and understand statistics to design policies. This is why the National Data Agency emphasizes the cultivation of AI and data talent.
Ahn Hyung-jun holds a unique position as the inaugural head of the National Data Agency. While the past role of the Statistics Office was to produce accurate national statistics, the National Data Agency's role is much broader. It encompasses managing national data, connecting departments, improving quality, fostering an AI utilization ecosystem, and overseeing and coordinating data policies. The agency must transform from a statistics-producing institution to one that designs the nation's future with data.
A country where all data from the National Tax Service, Ministry of Welfare, Ministry of Land, Ministry of Employment, Ministry of Education, and local governments is safely connected, allowing AI to analyze it to identify national issues, predict policy effects, and provide necessary services to citizens first. This is the ultimate vision of the AI data revolution that Ahn Hyung-jun must lead.
Ahn Hyung-jun, head of the National Data Agency, is an expert with over 20 years of experience in national statistics and data policy. After serving in the Ministry of Finance and Economy, he moved to the Statistics Office, where he held key positions in economic statistics and statistical policy. He served as Deputy Commissioner and then Commissioner of the Statistics Office before becoming the first head of the National Data Agency when it was elevated from the Statistics Office.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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