Translation result. 
[Herald Economy=Senior Reporter Park Jong-il] Gangnam District (Mayor Jo Seong-myeong) will launch a community-focused pilot program using AI and digital technologies at the district office’s service counters, community centers, bus stops, welfare facilities, and along the Yangjaecheon stream beginning in June.
Officials say they will demonstrate on-site how these technologies can change residents’ everyday lives: foreign visitors will receive real-time translation at service counters; visitors will be able to follow hologram guides to find departments; and sensors will detect electric wheelchair accidents in advance.
Through the “4th Gangnam: AI as a Way of Life” public–private open innovation initiative, the district selected eight companies and signed memorandums of understanding with them on May 29.
Five companies—WEDs, Rainbow Company, Zero Labs Korea, Byeoldttaragaja, and BIC&S—will participate under a subsidy-support model, while Infera, Pailernier, and Preventer will participate under an opportunity-provision model that provides demonstration sites only. Gangnam finalized the participating companies after recruiting and evaluating applicants since February.
The pilot concentrates on changes residents can feel across administration, civil services, transportation, welfare, safety, energy, and the environment.
At service counters, existing partitions will be replaced with transparent OLED panels that function as real-time communication screens. When a visitor or staff member speaks, the words will appear as text; if necessary, the system will translate them instantly into other languages so both parties can view the same screen. An AI hologram guide will be installed in the district office’s first-floor lobby to point out department locations and explain procedures, and it will offer multilingual voice guidance for foreign visitors.
Community centers will deploy generative AI assistants to support resident registration and integrated civil service tasks. The AI will be trained on extensive manuals and Q&A materials so staff can retrieve needed information immediately, improving both processing speed and accuracy.
Smart rest areas across the district will be equipped with AI voice-recognition kiosks so seniors, people with visual impairments, and foreign residents can ask for transit information and summon taxis by voice. Facilities such as the Gangnam Disability Welfare Center will pilot AIoT sensors attached to electric wheelchairs that automatically detect rollovers or collisions and send alerts.
Public facility management will also become smarter. In the machine rooms at the Job Support Center and Nonhyeon 1-dong Community Center, AI and IIoT sensors will monitor air handlers, pumps, and electrical equipment in real time for signs of malfunction. Myeonghwa Welfare Center will pilot a smart power-management system to reduce energy waste.
Along the Metasequoia Road by Yangjaecheon, the district will introduce a smart park-management system to harvest and reuse rainwater. The system will store rainwater for landscape irrigation and operate on solar and passive energy, cutting electricity and municipal water use.
Through these pilots, the district will assess improvements in service accessibility, administrative efficiency, safety for mobility-impaired residents, public facility management, energy savings, and eco-friendly urban management, and it will consider expanding services based on the results.
Mayor Jo Seong-myeong said, “We are implementing AI-driven, everyday services that residents can genuinely experience, not just introducing technology. We will continue partnering with innovative companies to lead Gangnam toward a sustainable future.” {vi25}
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