Saltlux said on Thursday that the Gyeongnam Integrated Welfare Platform, built jointly with its subsidiary Dyquest, officially opened on Oct. 15 after a pilot operation.

The Gyeongnam Integrated Welfare Platform is an AI-based service that integrates welfare information dispersed across multiple agencies and guides residents to tailored welfare programmes and how to apply. Gyeongsangnam-do said this is the first time a metropolitan local government has provided an integrated service in the welfare sector using AI.

The project was carried out by a consortium of Saltlux, Dyquest and iWorks. Saltlux built a welfare-focused AI counselling system using its in-house large language model, Lucia 32B, while Dyquest set up a system to centrally manage and search welfare data from the provincial government and its 18 cities and counties.

About 5,600 welfare programmes, along with related laws and regulations and work manuals, were used as training and search data. During the 5-month pilot operation, the consortium improved response accuracy and dialect recognition and reflected 381 errors and suggestions.

Users can describe their situation in natural language and receive guidance on relevant support schemes and how to apply, even if they do not know the welfare programme name or administrative terms. The platform also supports dialect voice counselling, simulated eligibility calculations, searches for nearby welfare facilities, and online applications. It is also linked to external services including Bokjiro and Employment24.

A separate AI work environment was also built for civil servants. It provides welfare document summaries, document-based question-and-answer, and knowledge management functions, while the public portal and the administrative network for civil servants are operated on physically separated systems.

Lee Kyung-il (이경일), chief executive of Saltlux, said the Gyeongnam Integrated Welfare Platform combined Saltlux's Lucia language model with Dyquest's search and knowledge management capabilities, improving both residents' access to welfare and civil servants' work efficiency. He said the company would expand AI services that can provide practical help in people's daily lives.