[Report] Facial Recognition for Entry, AI Voice for Broadcasts... A Visit to the KT AI Baseball Stadium

[Financial News] "Here are precautions for emergency situations. Please make sure to familiarize yourself with them for the safety of our fans."
As KT Wiz's star player Ahn Hyun-min appeared on the scoreboard to deliver announcements, the crowd's attention was drawn to him. Although it was a familiar face and voice heard in interviews, it felt somewhat novel on this day. This was because the Ahn Hyun-min on the scoreboard was an "AI Human" created by learning the player's face and voice. "AI Ahn Hyun-min" looked so similar to the real Ahn Hyun-min that it was difficult to distinguish between them. KT has integrated artificial intelligence (AI) technology throughout Suwon KT Wiz Park to allow spectators to experience it naturally.
Suwon KT Wiz Park, which I visited on the afternoon of the 3rd, was bustling with spectators even before the game started. Spectators who arrived at the stadium early checked their tickets or bought food, preparing to enter with excited expressions.
What particularly drew attention among the spectators was the 'AI Cheerple Service.' AI Cheerple is a service where AI automatically generates cheering signs with various designs simply by entering a player's name or a cheering slogan. This allows users to easily create their own unique cheering signs without having to draw or use design software.
In fact, when a spectator wrote a cheering message and selected a design that suited their taste, the finished picket sign was printed in less than a minute. KT Wiz provides this service for free.
Spectators entering the stadium via facial recognition were also noticeable. KT Wiz introduced the first AI facial recognition entry service in Korean professional baseball for season ticket holders. This was designed to allow spectators to enter quickly by reducing the process of repeatedly verifying mobile tickets.
Season pass holders can register their photos online and immediately authenticate their entry by standing in front of the AI Smart Gate at the venue. The authentication process took just a few seconds. KT is considering expanding the scope of AI facial recognition entry starting next year.
Kim Dong-hoon, Executive Vice President of KT’s Public Relations Office, explained, "We planned this so that customers can naturally use AI while enjoying baseball and become more familiar with KT’s AI technology."

KT operates a real-time AI translation service to ensure that foreign visitors can enjoy the games at a level similar to that of domestic visitors. Announcements, cheerleading captain comments, and game operation guides are translated in real-time via AI and displayed as subtitles on the scoreboard. With improved convenience for foreign visitors, the number of foreign visitors to KT Wiz Park in the first half of this year reportedly increased by 57% compared to the same period last year.
In addition to AI Human, 'AI Voice' technology has been introduced at KT Wiz Park. By training the stadium announcer's voice onto 'KT TTS 2.0,' the proprietary AI speech synthesis technology, a speech style similar to the real thing has been realized. When an operator inputs phrases appropriate for the game situation, the AI generates the voice in announcer Park Su-mi's voice, which is then used for the game opening, national anthem, and player introductions.
Recently, during the period when announcer Park was absent for about 50 days on maternity leave, an AI voice took her place for the in-stadium announcements. Now that announcer Park has returned, she is personally hosting the in-stadium announcements, but if unavoidable circumstances arise due to childcare, the AI voice is scheduled to assist.
In an interview conducted before the game, announcer Park said, "When I first heard the AI voice, I thought it was a recording of my own voice," adding, "Thanks to the AI voice, there were many people who didn't know I was on vacation."

[email protected] Yoon Hong-jip Reporter