What 120 Dasan Call Foundation does

120 Dasan Call Foundation (서울특별시 120다산콜재단) is a Seoul Metropolitan Government-invested public foundation that operates Seoul's official citizen consultation center via the dial-120 hotline, providing administrative, transportation, health, housing, and cultural information to Seoul residents on a 24-hour, 365-day basis. Originally launched as a private call center in 2007, the entity was converted to a government foundation on April 24, 2017, formalizing its public service mandate under Seoul Metropolitan Government ownership.

The foundation operates a multi-channel service platform spanning telephone (02-120), Visible ARS (visual Automated Response System), SMS text consultation, real-time web chat, the Seoul Talk (서울톡) AI chatbot on KakaoTalk, smart complaint reporting integrated with Seoul Safety, social media, Korean sign language interpretation, and foreign language consultation in five languages (English, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Mongolian). Its underlying technology stack includes STT (Speech-to-Text), AI-powered consultation assistants, automatic call classification, generative AI pilots, and a centralized consultation database of 10,000 standardized manuals. The platform has accumulated over 1.25 billion citizen consultation records since 2007 and is currently pursuing its 'Dasan Call 2.0' vision to achieve zero connection wait time and 100% response rate through expanded AI integration.

The foundation operates as a non-profit on Seoul Metropolitan Government budget allocations, providing all services free of charge to the public. Its primary 'customer' is Seoul Metropolitan Government as the sole budget provider; its primary end users are Seoul citizens, foreign residents, and hearing-impaired citizens. The foundation has been recognized as the first public call center in Korea to receive the Presidential Commendation at the National Productivity Awards (2023) and has been selected as an excellent call center in the KSQI evaluation 8 times, with 3 consecutive years of recognition from 2024 through 2026. International knowledge-transfer delegations from Japan, Mongolia, Ukraine, Romania, and Iran have visited the foundation for benchmarking.

Name

120 Dasan Call Foundation

Legal name

서울특별시 120다산콜재단 (Seoul Metropolitan Government 120 Dasan Call Foundation)

Website

https://120dasan.or.kr

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Short description

120 Dasan Call Foundation is a Seoul Metropolitan Government-invested foundation operating Seoul's official 24/7 multi-channel citizen consultation center via dial-120, AI chatbot, and sign/foreign language services, serving Seoul residents across all administrative domains.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Citizen Consultation Services (Government Contact Center)

NAICS

Telephone Call Centers (56142)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Technical Support & Helpdesk Contact Centers (BPAAAAAI)

Keywords

• Public call center services
• Citizen consultation services
• Government contact center
• Multi-language helpline
• AI chatbot citizen services

Headquarters

HQ city

Seoul

HQ country

South Korea

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Public Sector Government Funding: As a Seoul Metropolitan Government funded institution (서울특별시 출연기관), the foundation operates on government budget allocations and appropriations rather than commercial revenue generation. Services are provided free of charge to citizens. The foundation receives budget transfers from Seoul Metropolitan Government, conducts periodic board meetings (제33차 정기이사회, etc.) to approve annual budgets, and undergoes management disclosures.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels10 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

120 Dasan Call Foundation operates Seoul's primary 24/7, 365-day public citizen consultation center reachable by dialing 120, providing free, multi-channel administrative guidance and civil petition services across all 25 districts of Seoul. The foundation delivers phone, Visible ARS, real-time chat, KakaoTalk AI chatbot (Seoul Talk / 서울톡), SMS, social media, foreign-language (5 languages), and Korean sign language consultation, supported by an AI call center (AICC) platform and a standardized database of 10,000 consultation manuals.

Product overview

120 Dasan Call Foundation operates a multi-channel public service platform centered on the 120 phone consultation service (dial 120), Seoul Talk (서울톡) AI chatbot on KakaoTalk, Visible ARS, Real-Time Chat, Smart Complaint Reporting, Foreign Language Consultation, Sign Language Consultation, Social Media Network Service, and Text Message Consultation. The foundation provides 365-day 24-hour municipal government consultation across all 25 districts of Seoul, covering administration, transportation, health, housing, and culture. The core phone channel and the AI chatbot Seoul Talk serve as the primary access points, with supplementary channels providing accessibility, multilingual, and digital complaint services. All channels feed into a unified consultation database of 10,000+ manuals.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• 서울톡 (Seoul Talk): AI-powered chatbot consultation service available 24/7 via KakaoTalk providing responses to various city inquiries.
• 보이는 ARS

Products and services

• 120 Dasan Call Center Phone Consultation (02-120 Telephone Hotline) Seoul's primary municipal government call center providing 365-day, 24-hour city administration consultation across all 25 districts of Seoul, covering administration, transportation, health, housing, and culture inquiries. Citizens dial 120 from within Seoul or 02-120 from outside.
• Seoul Talk (서울톡) AI Chatbot AI-powered chatbot operating on KakaoTalk providing 24/7 automated responses to city administration inquiries, including 46 types of on-site civil petition acceptance and 332 types of administrative guidance.
• Visible ARS (보이는 ARS) Visual Automated Response System that displays visual information on screen during phone calls, enhancing citizen consultation with on-screen guidance.
• Real-Time Chat (실시간채팅) Live web chat service allowing citizens to communicate with agents in real time via the foundation's web portal, complementing phone and chatbot channels.
• Smart Complaint Reporting (스마트불편신고) Digital platform for citizens to report civic complaints and issues in real time to Seoul city government via the 120 service; integrated with the Seoul Safety (서울안전누리) platform.
• Foreign Language Consultation (외국어상담) Multi-language consultation service covering English, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, and Mongolian, including expanded Seoul local tax payment consultation for foreigners.
• Sign Language Consultation (수어상담) Sign language consultation service for deaf and hard-of-hearing citizens, providing accessible communication through Korean sign language interpretation, including Seoul Metro subway inquiries.
• Social Media Network Service (누리소통망) Citizen engagement via social media channels including Twitter (@120seoulcall), Naver blog, and Instagram (@120dasan_official) for city government communication and consultation support.
• Text Message Consultation (문자상담) SMS-based consultation service allowing citizens to submit inquiries and receive responses via text messaging, complementing voice and chat channels.

Quantifiable outcome

• Ranked #1 among all metropolitan government call centers in Korea in the 2026 KSQI (한국산업의 서비스품질지수) service quality evaluation
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

AI capability8 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

18 partnerships are on record, tiered supporting and core.

• 조재완 교수 (Professor Cho Jae-wan)supportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 June 2026Appointed as new advisory committee member. Professor at Sungkyunkwan University College of AI Convergence. Expected to contribute to smart consultation service activation using AI expertise.
• 동대문구시설관리공단 (Dongdaemun-gu Facilities Management Corporation)supportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 May 2024Signed MOU for ESG management activation. Proposal to cooperate in local community activation and leisure-friendly workplace creation between the foundation and the corporation.
• 정화예술대학교 (Junghwa Arts University)supportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 April 2024Signed MOU for 'Customized Beauty Healing Care Service' for emotional labor protection. Develops customized healing programs linking culture, arts, and education for emotional labor protection of consultants, improving citizen consultation service quality.
• 대한민국사회공헌재단 (Republic of Korea Social Contribution Foundation)supportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 April 2024Signed MOU for PC donation for Mongolia upcycling computer library creation. Foundation donates PCs past their service life, while the foundation refurbishes them for use in Mongolia's digital inclusion computer library.
• 한국의료재단 (Korea Medical Foundation)supportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 March 2024Signed MOU for comprehensive health checkup program for employees. Held at Korea Medical Foundation's Yeouido location. Provides high-quality health checkup program enabling early disease detection and treatment for all foundation staff.
• 중소기업정책개발원 (SME Policy Development Institute)supportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 February 2024Signed MOU for ESG management activation in public call centers. The institute is an ESG specialist organization operating ESG-related certification training courses. Collaboration to promote ESG practices across public call centers.
• 서울교통공사 (Seoul Metro Corporation)supportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 August 2023Signed MOU to improve convenience for foreign tourists and hearing-impaired citizens using Seoul subway. When translation or sign language interpretation is needed at subway stations or Seoul Metro Customer Center, 120 Dasan Call Center's foreign language and sign language services are linked and coordinated.
• 한국건강가정진흥원 (Korea Health and Family Promotion Agency)supportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 June 2023Signed MOU for foreign language consultation service activation. Collaboration with Danuri Call Center (다누리콜센터) to complement service scope and operating hours, significantly reducing information gaps for foreigners.
• (주)메가웍스 (Megaworks Co., Ltd.)supportingTechnology or Integration · 28 March 2023Signed MOU for 'Stress Healing Solution Program' providing early detection and prevention services for psychological risk factors of emotional labor workers. Supports higher quality citizen consultation.
• 서울디지털재단 (Seoul Digital Foundation)coreTechnology or Integration · 17 March 2023Signed MOU for AI-based civil petition consultation data utilization cooperation for urban problem solving. Planned joint hackathon events for generative AI consultation assistance programs targeting university students and general public.
• 근로자 맞춤형 건강관리 서비스 교류협력 consortium (6-party MOU)supportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 November 2022Signed 6-party MOU for customized worker health management service exchange cooperation. Provides customized health management services for consultants, ultimately enabling better customized consultation services for citizens.
• (주)빅케어 (BigCare Co., Ltd.)supportingTechnology or Integration · 21 September 2022Signed MOU for 'Smart Employee Health Management'. Provides AI-based personalized health data, mental health self-diagnosis and management services, health checkup reservation and results system for all employees.
• 서울기술연구원 (Seoul Institute of Technology)coreTechnology or Integration · 19 August 2022Signed MOU for AI-based consultation service innovation. Leverages Seoul Institute's technology expertise to build AI consultation systems and improve administrative consultation quality.
• 단국대학교 정보융합기술·창업대학원 (Dankook University Graduate School of Information Convergence Technology & Venture)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 July 2022Signed MOU for AI·ICT-based civil petition administration service talent cultivation, research, and education development. Part of Dasan Call 2.0 digital transformation strategy.
• KTcoreTechnology or Integration · 14 June 2022Signed joint research MOU for AI-based customer center development. Aimed at establishing 120 Dasan Call Foundation's pioneering 'AI-based call center' construction strategy. Focus on AI integration to provide citizen-focused administrative consultation services.
• 시립대학교 (University of Seoul)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 April 2022Signed MOU for smart city activation. Focus areas: civil petition consultation data analysis, smart Seoul activation, information sharing, technology provision, and citizen-centered urban problem-solving policy collaboration.
• 서울시50플러스재단 (Seoul 50 Plus Foundation)supportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 April 2022Signed senior internship MOU to provide job opportunities for mid-career and senior citizens. Contributes to expanding public service as a Seoul city-affiliated institution.
• 한국건강관리협회 서울동부지부 (Korean Health Management Association Seoul Eastern Branch)supportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 April 2022Health promotion MOU providing employees with medical examination discounts across 16 nationwide health checkup centers. Supports healthy workplace culture creation.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Others

• Kakao (KakaoTalk): Operator of KakaoTalk, the messaging platform on which 120's Seoul Talk chatbot is deployed. Comparable as the platform partner enabling 120's 24/7 conversational AI citizen service channel to the Korean public.
• Seoul Digital Foundation (SDF): Seoul Metropolitan Government's digital transformation and smart city services arm, strategic partner of 120 Dasan Call Foundation on AI consultation data utilization and generative-AI hackathons. Comparable as the technology counterpart enabling 120's Dasan Call 2.0 digital transformation roadmap.
• NICE (NICE inContact): Cloud customer experience and contact center software provider with significant government deployments and AI-powered interaction analytics. Comparable as enabling technology for AI-driven citizen contact center operations similar to 120's AICC roadmap.
• Five9: Cloud contact center as a service provider serving public sector and enterprise customers with AI, voice, and digital channels. Comparable as a platform vendor for AI-augmented inbound citizen service helplines.
• KT Corporation (Korea Telecom): South Korean telecom and AI contact center technology provider, strategic partner of 120 Dasan Call Foundation for AI-based call center (AICC) joint research. Comparable as a co-developer of the AI contact center technology stack that 120 deploys.
• Genesys: Cloud contact center software platform provider serving government and enterprise customers with omnichannel routing, AI, and workforce engagement tools. Comparable as the technology layer enabling the kind of smart contact center 120 is building under Dasan Call 2.0.

Regional players

• Korea Danuri Call Center (1345): Korea's national foreigner-dedicated multilingual consultation hotline operated by the Ministry of Gender Equality & Family and supported by Korea Health and Family Promotion Agency, which has an active cooperation MOU with 120 Dasan Call Foundation. Comparable as a parallel multilingual government consultation service for foreign residents, with overlapping but non-competing scope.

Broad incumbents

• Conduent: Business process services and solutions provider with a significant government contact center practice, serving transportation, healthcare, and citizen services programs. Comparable for its established government citizen-service contact center operations, though serving a much broader commercial portfolio beyond citizen services.
• Maximus: Large government services contractor operating citizen contact centers and BPO services for federal, state, and municipal agencies across the US and internationally. Comparable as an established player in government citizen contact center operations, offering overlapping capabilities from a wider portfolio perspective.

Direct peers

• NYC 311: New York City's non-emergency citizen service helpdesk (dial 311) operating 24/7 across multiple channels including phone, app, text, and chat. Highly comparable to 120 as a municipal citizen contact center handling administrative inquiries, with similar service-quality mandates and multilingual/accessible service offerings.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/120seoulcall
• Instagraminstagram.com/120dasan_official

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about 120 Dasan Call Foundation