Most Korean Civil Servants Use AI, but 9 in 10 Government Documents Remain Unreadable by Machines (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Oct. 14 (Korea Bizwire) — A new nationwide survey has revealed a striking paradox at the heart of South Korea’s digital transformation: while most public officials have experimented with artificial intelligence in their work, the vast majority of government documents remain locked in formats AI systems can’t read.
According to data released Monday by Democratic Party lawmaker Wi Seong-gon, 68.9 percent of civil servants said they have used generative AI tools — such as ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Copilot, or Naver’s HyperCLOVA X — to assist with administrative tasks.
The survey, conducted between September 17 and October 6 among 14,208 employees across central and local government agencies, shows that AI is rapidly becoming a part of bureaucratic workflow.
Yet 91.1 percent of respondents said that reports, plans, and official records are still written primarily in HWP (Hangul Word Processor) files or scanned PDFs — formats largely incompatible with AI text recognition. Only a small fraction of documents are in machine-readable formats such as DOCX or structured text files.
The survey also raised data security concerns. More than half (54.5 percent) of respondents said they use AI tools through open internet networks, while 12.9 percent use both public and secure government systems — meaning nearly two-thirds are working outside closed administrative networks. Experts warn this could expose sensitive data to privacy and security risks.
Civil servants most frequently used AI for data collection and organization (41.5%), followed by writing or summarizing administrative documents (30.8%), summarizing meeting notes or reports (14.1%), and transcribing audio recordings (5.6%).
Despite growing adoption, training and oversight remain thin. Only 1.3 percent of officials said they receive AI-related education four or more times a year, while nearly 60 percent reported never receiving any formal training. Fewer than 40 percent have completed courses on AI ethics, privacy, or data protection.
Wi urged the government to take a more structured approach to AI integration, calling the current situation “a bottleneck in Korea’s AI government transition.”
“It’s critical to convert public documents into AI-readable formats and improve system compatibility through metadata and API integration,” he said. “We must also establish a secure, closed-network AI environment for public administration and expand practical training programs.”
The findings come as the current administration pushes for a more technology-driven bureaucracy, while opposition lawmakers argue that without structural reforms — including standardized data formats and robust privacy protections — the government’s AI adoption will remain superficial.
Kevin Lee (kevinlee@koreabizwire.com)
