Technology to speed release of census data

The Korean Census of Population and Housing, which takes place every five years, will become more high-tech this year than in the past. The National Statistical Office, which conducts the survey of the nation’s demographics, said yesterday that it has signed on with KT Corp., Korea’s largest telecommunications firm, to introduce new technologies to the census that will allow for a quicker release of the results. The statistical agency said the data from the census, which runs for 15 days from Nov. 1 using 100,000 census takers, will be transmitted via KT’s high-speed circuit lines from local district offices to the agency. The new technology, dubbed “e-Census System,” will allow the officials at the statistical office to view in real time the numbers entered by census takers at their district or county offices. The results from the most recent census in November 2000 were released in September of the following year, but thanks to the new system, the agency expects to announce the results from this year’s census by next May. Also, the office will notify 16 million subscribers of KT’s fixed-line telephone service about census takers’ visits to their home through automated voice messages. by Lee Hee-sung