The Ministry of Environment (Minister Kim Wansup) announced that it will sign a business agreement for a collaboration project on ‘Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG)’ with POSCO DX on July 26 at the company office in Pangyo (located in Bundang-gu, Seongnam). The project aims to utilize advanced technology to prevent animal road accidents.

The ‘Animal Road Accident Prevention System’ was developed in-house by POSCO DX, a telecommunications specialist within the POSCO Group. This collaboration project involves the installation and operation of such system at two national roads in Odaesan National Park and Yangpyeong-gun area of Gyeonggi Province. The system is planned to be gradually expanded until 2027.

In addition, the Ministry will operate a working council in collaboration with its affiliated organizations, the Korea National Park Service (KNPS) and the National Institute of Ecology (NIE), to provide administrative support and ecological consultation. The KNPS will assist with all administrative matters to ensure the proper operation of the ‘Animal Road Accident Prevention System’ installed in areas like Odaesan and will work to expand its implementation to other national park roads. The NIE will provide ecological consultation and analyze the effectiveness of the project.

The ‘Animal Road Accident Prevention System’ analyzes information about wildlife that appears on the road using artificial intelligence technology and then relays this information in real-time to LED display boards installed 200 meters ahead, encouraging vehicles to slow down and preventing accidents. 

This year, POSCO DX plans to further enhance the system by adding a feature that analyzes various information, such as the types of wildlife and their appearance times, and predicts the likelihood of their presence.

Meanwhile, the KNPS and POSCO DX introduced the ‘Animal Road Accident Prevention System’ as a pilot project on one road in Hallyeohaesang National Park last October and analyzed the data until May of this year. 

According to the analysis, the average vehicle speed, which was 60.5 km/h, decreased by over 35% to 39.1 km/h after the implementation of the ‘Animal Road Accident Prevention System.’ During the 8-month pilot operation, there were 163 instances of wildlife, such as water deer, appearing. However, no animal road accidents occurred, indicating a visible effect of the system.

The Ministry expects that this collaboration project will not only prevent animal road accidents but also mitigate various threats such as vehicle damage and traffic accidents, thereby protecting the safety and lives of drivers and contributing to biodiversity conservation. In addition, after a detailed analysis of the project’s effectiveness, if it is recognized as effective, there are plans to incorporate it into measures for reducing animal road accidents and expand it nationwide.          

Vice Minister Lee Byounghwa stated, “We will spare no administrative and technical support to ensure that this collaboration project becomes a representative example of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) practices for the harmonious coexistence of people and nature, as well as for the conservation of biodiversity.”

For further information, please contact the Public Relations Division. 

Contact person: Gina Lee, foreign media spokesperson

Phone: +82-44-201-6055

Email: gcjgina @gmail.com