Indonesia and South Korea sign MoU to develop AI for public services

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – The Government of the Republic of Indonesia and the Republic of Korea have signed a cooperation agreement in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and digital governance. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) serves as the umbrella for cooperation on developing AI in the public sector and public services. The MoU was signed by Minister for Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform (PANRB) Rini Widyantini, on the Indonesian side, and by South Korea’s Minister of Interior and Security (MOIS) Yun Hojung, in Seoul on Friday, 22 May 2026. Rini said the MoU will underpin policy dialogue, technical collaboration, organisational capability building, and knowledge exchange. ‘This cooperation will ultimately bring about faster, simpler public services that are closer to the people,’ Rini said in a press briefing. She emphasised that the collaboration is highly relevant to the bureaucracy reform agenda currently pursued by PANRB, such as strengthening Digital Public Infrastructure, Digital Population Identity (IKD), interoperability between agencies, and the INAku service portal. All programmes will be accelerated through exchanges of best practices with South Korea. South Korea, known as the ‘Land of the Morning Calm’, is described as one of the countries with the world’s best digital government ecosystems, and has been Indonesia’s partner for more than two decades. Some collaborations already undertaken include the Digital Government Cooperation Centre, technical assistance from the National Information Society Agency, and various initiatives supported by KOICA. According to Rini, the MoU supports Indonesia’s accession to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). She contends that Indonesia views accession as not merely a procedural step, but a strategic opportunity to strengthen governance quality, raise institutional standards, and accelerate reforms with tangible benefits for the public. ‘We are committed to turning this Memorandum of Understanding into concrete, impactful results, not just a document on paper,’ Rini asserted.