South Korea's Ministry of Science and ICT is integrating data competitions previously run by individual agencies under the 'Data+AI Innovation Challenge' and is seeking participants.

The ministry began a combined call from Sept. 1 for three sections of the 2026 Data+AI Innovation Challenge — Data Safe Zone, Data Problem Solving and Big Contest — together with the Korea Data Agency (K-DATA) and the Korea Association of ICT Promotion (KAIT).

The Data+AI Innovation Challenge is an integrated brand that brings together data competitions that were previously operated separately by individual agencies. It aims to find solutions to social and industrial issues in a range of ways, from using non-open data to solving problems based on data and analysing corporate data and using AI.

Anyone can take part in the three sections announced this time, as an individual or as a team. Winners will be selected through preliminaries and finals for each section, with a total of 53.9 million won in prize money and 40 awards to be given.

The Data Safe Zone section uses data safe zones that allow secure analysis of non-open data that are not disclosed externally to identify analysis ideas and use cases. Winners who receive an excellence award or higher in this section can receive a benefit of passing the document screening stage in the 2027 recruitment of new employees at Nice Zini Data. Applications are open until Oct. 22.

The Data Problem Solving section identifies ideas to solve social and industrial problems by using data use cases and analysis tools accumulated on the 'AI-Data Problem Solving Bank Portal'. It will be run in two areas: 'Data Recipe Proposal', which proposes solutions based on data use cases, and 'Problem Solving Analysis Tools', which analyses data using analysis tools. Applications will be accepted from Sept. 8 to Oct. 22.

The Big Contest section is a competition that uses data provided by companies to analyse social and industrial issues and present solutions based on AI and data technologies. It is run in the AI and data analysis and AI data utilisation areas. This year's topics are 'analysis of the impact on vulnerable commercial districts from the climate crisis' and 'development of models to prevent and respond to social isolation'. SK Telecom and Shinhan Card, among others, are participating as sponsoring companies to provide data by area. Applications are open from Sept. 8 to Oct. 26.

Grand prize winners in each section will receive an award from the deputy prime minister and minister of science and ICT, along with prize money of up to 3 million won. A combined awards ceremony for the grand prize and top excellence awards will be held during the '2026 Cloud and Data Promotion Week' in December.

Choi Dong-won (최동원), director general for AI Infrastructure Policy at the ministry, said he hopes the innovation challenge will become a venue where anyone can directly use data and AI to tackle social and industrial problems and develop ideas into solutions.

The 2026 Data+AI Innovation Challenge will be run in four sections. Of these, the 'Data+AI Creator Camp', hosted by the National Information Society Agency, began recruiting participants in May and is currently holding preliminaries.