Kakao Mobility presented a vision for the future of urban parking, highlighting AI-based parking technology and data analysis results. Kakao Mobility said on Oct. 23 it held a standalone session at the "2026 Gangneung ITS World Congress" under the theme "Redefining Urban Parking: Smart City Infrastructure Connected by AI and Data." It was the first time in 16 years that the world’s largest intelligent transport systems event was held in South Korea, and Kakao Mobility participated as an official sponsor.

Park Eun-ho (박은호), head of the P&C business office, introduced achievements of the Kakao T Parking service, saying that since its launch in 2017 it has connected parking lots nationwide on a single platform across three pillars: platform, operations and facilities. Key examples include barrier-free exits based on automatic payment and South Korea’s first cloud-based control system. The company said it recently signed a proof-of-concept contract to test the potential for adoption in the Diriyah smart city project in Saudi Arabia.

Seo Jung-hoon (서정훈), a director on the DeepAI team, showcased AI recognition technology that identifies vehicle licence plates and parking spaces from camera footage. He also unveiled digital twin technology that replicates physical space in a virtual environment, along with indoor and outdoor 3D spatial maps. Seo presented a vision of using the two technologies to develop previously disconnected parking lots into connected infrastructure for real-time monitoring and operations.

The analysis covered about 1.62 million parking-related big-data records. The results, released by Kim Geon-woo (김건우), head of the Future Platform Economy Research Institute, showed exit intervals fell by up to about 20 percent. Platform technologies such as Kakao T Parking Pass and automatic payment eased exit bottlenecks. The company said it cited the results as evidence that parking systems are key infrastructure for easing urban traffic congestion.

Hwang Yun-young (황윤영), head of Kakao Mobility's compliance management division, said, "This Gangneung ITS World Congress was a meaningful opportunity to share Kakao Mobility’s AI and data capabilities and research outcomes with transportation officials around the world." He added, "We will continue to advance parking technology, which is essential infrastructure supporting urban transportation and will become a hub for future mobility in the era of autonomous driving, and we will actively expand into global markets."