A hackathon to select the champion who handles artificial intelligence (AI) best among civil servants and public institution employees nationwide will be held.
The Ministry of the Interior and Safety and the National Information Society Agency (NIA) said on the 21st they will host the "2026 AI Champion Hackathon" at Ilsan KINTEX in Goyang, Gyeonggi, from Apr. 23 to 24 for an overnight, two-day schedule.
Participants will stage a tournament-style competition using the "Vibe Coding" method, which has AI write code in everyday natural language.
This hackathon will be divided into two groups, depending on participant choice. Applicants can choose one based on their specialty: the "technical track," grounded in AI and digital skills, or the "planning track," grounded in planning and problem definition.
An official at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety (MOIS) said the aim is "to show that capability also lies in defining good problems in real administrative settings and planning services that are truly needed by the public."
Teams will submit an idea proposal to solve problems in the public sector using AI, and after a document screening, 12 technical teams and 12 planning teams, for a total of 24 teams, will advance to the finals.
On day one of the finals, 24 teams will implement services via Vibe Coding for four hours by field, and the eight teams that survive will advance to the championship round. In the championship, the eight teams will again compete intensely for four hours on the same problem to determine the final ranking.
Civil servants who wish to participate should form teams of two and have one representative submit the application form to the operating secretariat by email (databus@nia.or.kr).
Minister Yoon Ho-jung of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety (MOIS) said, "AI-driven administrative innovation does not come from grand systems; it starts with small challenges in which civil servants, who know on-the-ground problems best, directly create solutions with AI," adding, "We will lay the institutional foundation so that the public sector's creative attempts lead to tangible change."