TLDR: KEPCO KPS has been recognized with the Excellence Award in the Public Sector at the 12th Korea Big Data AI Awards for its groundbreaking development of “KARE,” an in-house generative AI service. This achievement is notable as KEPCO KPS became the first public institution to develop such a system using only internal resources, significantly enhancing operational efficiency and data security while setting a new standard for digital innovation in the public sector.
KEPCO KPS, a company specializing in the maintenance of power and transmission facilities, has been awarded the prestigious Excellence Award in the Public Sector at the 12th Korea Big Data AI Awards. This accolade celebrates the company’s significant strides in digital innovation, particularly through the development and implementation of its proprietary generative artificial intelligence (AI) service, named “KARE” (KPS AI Robot Engineer).
Marking a pioneering achievement for a public institution, KEPCO KPS developed KARE entirely with internal manpower. This strategic decision was driven by a commitment to enhancing security and internalizing core technologies, a departure from the common reliance on external developers for AI initiatives within public entities. The company dedicated substantial R&D personnel at the Korea Advanced Institute of Technology for a year, successfully completing a large-scale language model (LLM)-based AI system in July 2024. This in-house development approach has yielded multiple benefits, including reduced development costs, resolution of security concerns, and the establishment of technological independence.
KARE currently functions as a “digital peer engineer” within KEPCO KPS, providing invaluable support to employees across various tasks. Its capabilities include summarizing reports and papers, performing data analysis, translating documents, assisting with document writing, and facilitating idea generation. Operating within an in-house network, KARE effectively mitigates the risk of external information leakage, thereby addressing critical information protection challenges and serving as a benchmark for other public institutions considering generative AI adoption.
The scope of KARE’s services is continually expanding. Recent enhancements have introduced functionalities that interpret laws related to the Occupational Safety and Health Act and analyze similar cases, enabling field workers to make quicker and more accurate safety-related decisions. President Kim Hong-yeon emphasized the significance of this achievement, stating, “KARE is an exemplary case of considering the introduction and use of Generative AI and presenting solutions to public institutions sensitive to information security.”
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The 12th Korea Big Data AI Awards, co-hosted by the Maeil Business Newspaper, MBN, and the Ministry of Science and ICT, in collaboration with the Korea Big Data Association, recognized outstanding achievements in big data-based AI innovation. This year’s awards saw an unprecedented number of applications, with winners selected across six distinct categories, including finance, solution, manufacturing, logistics, CEO, and contributor, following a rigorous evaluation process. The awards underscore the transformative power of AI, which is increasingly recognized not merely as an efficiency tool but as a “game changer” that redefines business models and unlocks new market opportunities. The synergy between AI and data is now considered a fundamental requirement for corporate survival and leadership, with data competitiveness directly correlating to overall corporate competitiveness.
