Developing AI-Based Models to Protect Vulnerable Consumers: Pf. Hong-Joo Lee Selected for Two Major Research Grants
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- Writer 커뮤니케이션팀
- 보도일자 2026-08-04
Professor Hong-Joo Lee of the Department of Consumer Economics has been selected for two major research grants in succession: the Korea Fair Trade Mediation Agency's "2026 Fair Trade Academic Research Support Project" and the Credit Card Social Contribution Foundation's "2026 Public Interest Academic Support Program." The back-to-back selections reflect his research competitiveness in AI-driven market analysis and financial consumer protection.
The study selected for the Korea Fair Trade Mediation Agency's support project, titled "A Study on the Impact of Intellectual Property (IP) Regulation on Competition in Digital and AI Markets," examines how intellectual property systems—including patents and copyrights—affect market competition and technological innovation.
The research will comprehensively assess both the positive effects of intellectual property protection in promoting innovation and its potential to raise barriers to market entry or reinforce monopolies over technology and data. It will also propose policy and institutional improvements addressing emerging issues such as the use of AI training data and algorithmic rights.
The study selected for the Credit Card Social Contribution Foundation's program, titled "A Study on a Public Interest Financial Counseling Linkage Model for Preventing AI-Based Financial Fraud Targeting Financially Vulnerable Groups," analyzes the risk factors for financial fraud and the counseling needs of financially vulnerable populations, including older adults, low-income individuals, young people, and small business owners.
To this end, the research combines conventional social science methodologies—such as surveys and scenario-based experiments—with machine learning-based AI algorithms. The project aims to develop a customized counseling model that predicts individual-level fraud risk and provides support ranging from preventive information and AI-based initial counseling to referrals to professional counselors.
The research also seeks to develop a program that automatically analyzes fraud risk and counseling needs to recommend preventive information and counseling approaches suited to each individual's risk level. Rather than simply identifying risk factors among vulnerable consumers, the project aims to expand into interdisciplinary research that supports real-world problem-solving and decision-making.
The two studies share complementary goals: fostering a fair competitive environment in digital and AI markets, and protecting financially vulnerable populations. Their significance lies in combining social science methodology with AI technology to offer practical solutions applicable to policy and industry practice.
"The advancement of AI technology can expand industrial innovation and consumer benefits, but it can also introduce new risks such as market monopolization and financial fraud," said Professor Lee. "By combining consumer economics theory with AI algorithms, I aim to present predictive models and policy alternatives that can be applied in the field."