🇰🇷 South Korea Expands AI Surveillance

South Korean authorities are using AI to process security camera footage more quickly, with Seoul’s Yeongdeungpo district operating about 5,500 local government cameras monitored around the clock. At the district control center, operators can search footage for missing people by inputting gender, clothing colors, and the time and place of disappearance; the system can review 30 minutes of footage from up to 100 cameras in about seven to eight minutes.

The technology is also used to detect incidents such as street collapses, violence, and possible suicide warning signs on Seoul’s Han River bridges. Nationwide, local government-operated cameras increased from about 440,000 in 2020 to 650,000 in 2024, while staffing fell to an average of 477 cameras per monitor by 2024, increasing pressure to automate analysis.

The system has already been used in live cases, including locating an elderly person with dementia in Yeongdeungpo on July 4. The expansion also reflects broader acceptance of cameras in South Korea as a public safety tool rather than primarily a privacy concern.

#SouthKorea

@asianomics