What if South Korea could create a virtual replica of its entire territory? This would involve accurately modeling roads, buildings, rivers, and land, allowing AI to analyze urban development, disaster response, and traffic issues in advance.
This is the vision of Oh Myung-soo, president of the Korea Land and Geospatial Informatix Corporation (LX), which is transitioning from traditional land surveying to developing a 'digital twin' of South Korea that AI can interpret and assess.
For AI to effectively influence the real world, certain elements are essential. While semiconductors, power, and data are crucial, one key requirement is information about 'space.'
Autonomous vehicles need to understand road layouts, delivery robots must know building locations, and drones must identify navigable airspace. An AI managing a city must comprehend the locations and conditions of buildings, roads, rivers, and land.
The data that teaches AI about the real South Korea is known as 'spatial information.'
This is why LX is gaining attention in the AI era. For years, LX has recorded and managed South Korea's land through land surveying. Now, its role is evolving from a 'land measurement agency' to an organization focused on digitizing the nation's territory.
Creating a virtual copy of real South Korea centers around the concept of a digital twin.
A digital twin is a technology that replicates real cities and territories in a three-dimensional virtual space. It transforms data about actual roads, buildings, rivers, and terrain into a virtual environment.
LX's 'Digital Land Platform' supports administration based on this three-dimensional spatial information. As of 2026, it offers a total of 70 digital twin services utilized by 38 institutions and countries.
The applications are diverse. They include reviewing building permits, analyzing wind patterns in urban areas, identifying locations for CCTV installations in underserved regions, and managing river conditions.
In the past, responses were formulated after problems arose, but with digital twins, policymakers can preview outcomes in a virtual space before implementing policies.
This marks a shift from 'on-site decision-making' to 'preliminary simulations for decision-making.'
AI will enhance digital twins.
When AI is integrated, the potential for change expands significantly. While digital twins transfer real South Korea into a virtual space, AI serves as the brain that reads, analyzes, and predicts based on the accumulated data.
By analyzing data on roads, buildings, population, traffic, weather, and disasters, AI can identify areas at high risk for issues. It can also assess potential changes in surrounding areas when new buildings or roads are constructed.
The ultimate vision of this transformation is an 'AI land.' For instance, if heavy rainfall is anticipated, there is no need to wait for rain to fall in reality. By inputting expected precipitation into the digital twin, it can analyze which rivers are likely to flood and which roads may become submerged.
Urban development follows a similar pattern. Before constructing large apartment complexes or buildings, planners can first examine how traffic flow, wind patterns, and the surrounding environment will change in the virtual space.
With AI's integration, numerous scenarios can be analyzed to support decision-making, allowing for multiple trials of costly failures in the digital realm before real-world implementation. Essentially, South Korea becomes a single AI simulation space.
Drones will serve as AI's 'eyes.'
Drones play a crucial role in connecting the real territory to the digital space. They capture images of the land and facilities, collecting data on changes in the environment. This information is combined with spatial data to reflect in the digital twin, where AI analyzes the changes.
LX is also expanding its efforts to integrate advanced technologies such as AI, drones, and digital twins into land re-surveying and management.
To create an AI land, a 'data-driven' approach must be established.
As important as flashy AI services are, the supporting information systems are equally critical. LX's initiative to undertake a 3.9 billion won project for '2027 LX Information System Integration and Maintenance' should be viewed from this perspective. This project aims to unify the maintenance systems of 24 information systems, including land surveying application portals, ERP, and data hubs, standardizing fragmented source codes and operational procedures, automating builds and deployments through CI/CD integration, and updating outdated operating systems and databases to modern environments.
The starting point for AI transformation ultimately lies in data and systems. If information is scattered and systems are not interconnected, AI will struggle to function effectively. Before establishing an AI land, it is essential to first organize the digital infrastructure that enables AI to operate.
Physical AI will also require a 'map.'
LX's spatial information is likely to become even more critical in the era of physical AI. For robots, autonomous vehicles, and drones to navigate the real world, they must know their locations and destinations.
While humans can rely on addresses and maps, machines require much more precise and structured spatial information.
If the Korea Industrial Complex Corporation creates a factory where AI and robots work, LX's role is different. LX is the agency responsible for creating a digital map that allows AI and robots to operate throughout South Korea. As AI becomes more integrated into the real world, the value of accurate spatial information increases.
From a land measurement agency to an 'AI land platform.'
LX's mid-term strategy for 2026-2030 includes leading the digital transformation of land space, enhancing AI capabilities, and expanding AI and platform services as key objectives.
This is why LX's transformation should not be viewed merely as the digitization of surveying tasks.
Whereas LX once measured South Korea's land, it is now creating a digital territory that mirrors reality, allowing AI to analyze and predict outcomes. This marks the beginning of an era where the entire nation is represented as a digital twin, enabling advanced analysis of urban planning, traffic, disaster management, and land development—this is the future of 'AI land' envisioned by LX.
: Oh Myung-soo, President of the Korea Land and Geospatial Informatix Corporation:
Oh Myung-soo is a land transportation expert who has served as the second vice minister of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, director of the Transportation Logistics Division, and director of Comprehensive Transportation Policy. He became president of LX in November 2023 and is focused on advancing land surveying technology, digitizing national infrastructure, and expanding digital twin platforms. Recently, he has emphasized integrating spatial information with AI to transform LX into a 'digital land platform agency.'
* This article has been translated by AI.
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