Urban Wildlife Sightings Surge Across Seoul and Incheon
Wild animals are increasingly appearing in urban areas and roadways across South Korea, prompting a push for systematic and scientific management systems. The event focuses on integrating artificial intelligence (AI) for habitat prediction and wildlife detection into actionable government policies.
Official statistics illustrate the growing frequency of these urban encounters. Seoul city records show that wild boar sightings jumped from 205 cases in 2022 to 427 cases in 2023, and reached 486 cases in 2024. Meanwhile, raccoon sightings recorded by the Seoul Metropolitan Fire and Disaster Headquarters were even higher, totaling 2,656 cases across the capital between 2022 and 2024. Urban streams and parks throughout Seoul and Incheon serve as the primary hotspots for these encounters.
AI Deployment Aims to Curb Roadkill Hazards
The boundary between wilderness and civilization also extends to highways, where sudden wildlife crossings threaten driver safety and animal lives. Traditional preventive structures such as ecoducts and guiding fences remain difficult to install effectively around intersections and entry ramps. To close this gap, the Ministry of Environment partnered with POSCO DX to launch an AI-based roadkill prevention system.
The system utilizes closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras to monitor roadways and applies artificial intelligence to distinguish between humans, objects, and animals. When the software detects a wild animal, it triggers flashing warning lights and displays cautionary messages on front-facing LED electronic boards to prompt drivers to slow down. Following installations in Yangpyeong, Hoengseong, and Pyeongchang, the Ministry of Environment expanded the pilot project to National Route 17 in Cheongju starting October 28, 2024.
Mapping Urban Habitats and Crossing Points
In urban centers, predicting animal movements forms the basis of effective prevention. In February 2024, researchers released an AI-generated habitat map for Seoul and Incheon based on these findings.
Around Mount Bukhansan, analysis of 415 wild boar sighting locations identified steep southern slopes with dense shrubbery as primary resting areas, while vegetable gardens and Buddhist temples served as feeding grounds. For raccoons, researchers overlaid environmental data with population density and night lighting across Seoul and Incheon to isolate 47 high-encounter zones—36 in Seoul and 11 in Incheon—mostly near urban parks and riverbanks.
Policy Discussions and Interagency Cooperation
The October 29 academic symposium at Hanhwa Resort in Haeundae, Busan, held in conjunction with the Korean Society of Environmental Biology, brought together roughly 100 participants from central government ministries, local municipalities, universities, and environmental organizations. Presentations covered wild boar habitat monitoring, wildlife survey improvements, bird-human conflicts, institutional management frameworks, and a shift from reactive conflict management to proactive scientific risk assessment. Central government, academia, research institutions, and metropolitan local governments gathered in one place, so how scientific information is used in policies and how interagency cooperation is led are expected to be the center of the discussion.
Lee Chae-eun, the Ministry of Environment's Natural Conservation Bureau Director, emphasized the importance of utilizing AI technology to protect both drivers and wildlife while expanding corporate participation in biodiversity conservation initiatives, stating regarding the Cheongju pilot operation, It is important to actively utilize AI technology to protect wild animals and drivers together, and We will link corporate technology with public institution expertise to expand projects in which companies can participate in biodiversity conservation. Ultimately, the key is how much it is used in the field.
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