GOYANG — The city of Goyang in Gyeonggi Province has registered a patent for technology that uses artificial intelligence to automatically determine whether outdoor dining operations can be approved, accelerating the digital transformation of public administration. The case turned an idea proposed by a frontline civil servant into an actual intellectual property right, and the city expects it to improve the efficiency of permit work that had taken about two weeks on average because multiple laws and floor plans had to be reviewed by hand.
Goyang said on the 14th that its "AI-based system for automatically determining eligibility for outdoor dining operations and verifying permits" has been registered as a patent with the Korea Intellectual Property Office. Filed last December, the technology was registered on Sept. 14 this year, about nine months later, and the city holds the patent rights. It is the first such case among local governments nationwide.
The patent originated from a proposal by Kim Dong-eun, an assistant director in the health administration division of the Deogyang-gu public health center, who won the top prize at the city's AI idea contest for civil servants last year. The city reviewed the feasibility of the idea and its applicability to administrative work before pursuing the patent filing, with the smart city division supporting the entire process from selecting a patent law firm to preparing the application.
The technology grew out of the workload on the ground. Processing food hygiene permits and outdoor dining filings required checking numerous laws and ordinances — including the Building Act, the Housing Act, the Parking Lot Act, the Road Act and the Sewerage Act — and reviewing related floor plans one by one. That burdened the officers in charge, and as consultations between departments dragged on, handling a single application took more than 14 days on average.
The patented technology automates that review in three stages. First, when an officer enters the location, floor plans and checklist information from the application documents, the system searches the building register to confirm whether business is permitted for the given use category. The AI then analyzes floor plans and photographs and cross-checks them against relevant laws and ordinances to determine whether outdoor dining is allowed. Finally, it automatically calculates septic tank capacity and the charges levied on the party responsible, and generates a results report.
That allows officers to spend less time on repetitive data cross-checking and plan reviews and to focus on final judgments and responding to applicants. The review process, previously spread across several departments, was also designed to be linked within a single system. The AI's analysis is used in the final notice after confirmation by the permit officer and the relevant departments.
The city believes that once the system is applied to actual work, it will reduce omissions in legal reviews and variation in judgments between officers, and shorten processing times. For now, however, the technology is only at the patent registration stage, and the city plans to verify its effects in practice through a pilot project.
Goyang Mayor Min Kyung-sun met Kim over tea at the mayor's office on the 13th to congratulate him on the patent registration. Kim explained the thinking behind the idea and how it could improve work on the ground, while the city department in charge shared plans for a future pilot project and use of the technology.
"The sense of a problem held by a civil servant who encounters residents' inconvenience most closely led to the achievement of a patent registration," Min said. "We will support our staff so that their creative ideas can drive real administrative change, and we will spread this model of AI-based administrative innovation nationwide."
Min also instructed officials to "review support measures so that real rewards, such as budget performance bonuses and special promotions, can be given to staff who deliver outstanding results, including cutting budgets or securing state funding." The city plans to put in place a reward system for creative administrative results, including personnel evaluation points and commendations.
The city will also consult with the departments that would use the system to review the scope of the patented technology's application and discuss cooperation with related companies. It plans to pay an intellectual property registration award to the inventor in November and to lay the groundwork for applying the technology to actual permit work, targeting the start of a pilot project in 2027.