NHN said on Monday it donated artificial intelligence (AI) baduk robots to 6 comprehensive senior welfare centers in Seongnam as part of local digital care support to respond to a super-aged society.

The donation extends NHN’s AI baduk robot donation drive for local communities that it has pursued since last year. NHN plans to sequentially deliver a total of 200 baduk robots to local governments and welfare facilities nationwide over three years through 2027.

NHN has donated a total of 19 AI baduk robots to local governments including Jincheon County in North Chungcheong Province, Gangnam district in Seoul and Pocheon in Gyeonggi Province, as well as public institutions including the Gyeongnam Institute for Social Services and the Korea Senior’s Helpline.

The handover ceremony was held on the afternoon of Feb. 9 at Seongnam City Hall, with key officials attending including Seongnam City Welfare Bureau Director Soon-shin Kim (김순신) and NHN Policy Support Office head Jae-hwan Kim (김재환). The AI baduk robots were delivered to 6 welfare centers in Seongnam: Bundang Senior Welfare Center, Sujeong Senior Welfare Center, Sujeong Jungang Senior Welfare Center, Jungwon Senior Welfare Center, Pangyo Senior Welfare Center and Hwangsong Senior Welfare Center.

The AI baduk robot can play sophisticated games tailored to the user’s level and offers the experience of playing on a real board using a monitor and a robotic arm. By providing both repetitive brain activity and leisure activity, it is expected to help relieve seniors’ sense of isolation and to deliver benefits for dementia prevention through improved cognitive ability.

As society enters a super-aged era, the importance of preventing declines in seniors’ cognitive function and of digital leisure activities is growing, but front-line welfare centers often face difficulties introducing expensive smart care devices due to budget constraints.

NHN board chairman Jun-ho Lee (이준호) has emphasized the responsibility of IT companies to strengthen the community care ecosystem. As part of that, NHN plans to use the familiar medium of baduk to supplement welfare centers’ smart care infrastructure and to create an environment in which seniors can adapt to digital devices without resistance.

An NHN official said, "As society becomes super-aged, it is becoming important to build a digital care environment for seniors to have a healthy old age." The official added, "NHN will continue support by applying its capabilities as an IT company to social contribution activities so that seniors in local communities can experience digital services more familiarly and continue leisure and cognitive activities in their daily lives."