Seoul launches international smart city awards highlighting environment, inclusion

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

National

Tue, September 26, 2023 | 06:10

Foreign Affairs

Seoul launches international smart city awards highlighting environment, inclusion

Posted : 2023-07-12 16:58

Updated : 2023-07-13 14:26

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon speaks during a spring event for ambassadors at Sebitseom Island in Seoul, March 3. Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan Government

93 cities selected for main round of Seoul Smart City Prize

By Ko Dong-hwan

Seeking to encourage urban innovation worldwide, the Seoul Metropolitan Government has begun sorting out global city projects that cater to eco-friendliness, digital technologies and vulnerable urban residents as the city hosts the first international smart city award in September.

The Digital Policy Division under the Seoul Metropolitan Government's Digital Policy Bureau announced Wednesday that it shortlisted 209 submissions from 93 cities in 47 countries. It is the first smart city prize to be awarded by Seoul.

Most submissions were from Asia with 44 percent, followed by Europe, the Middle East, the Americas, Africa and Oceania in order. Submissions were categorized as "human-centered" projects, "technological innovation" projects or "city leadership" projects.

It was the result of the first round of selection that evaluated a total of 240 submissions online from last March to June.

The city authority in March selected a prize organizing committee. The committee, ahead of evaluating the second round, has selected 16 members of judges who are experts in energy, digital economy, disaster management and urban development. They will shortlist 42 advancers until July 19. The final winner will be selected from the third round assessment and invited to the World Cities Summit Mayors Forum at Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul on Sept. 25.

The winning project will serve as a benchmark for future international and domestic events hosted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, showcasing the successful implementation of smart city concepts.

The prize has been jointly organized by WeGO, a global smart city promoting organization run by the city government which has over 200 member cities and companies worldwide. Park Jung-sook, Secretary-General of the organization, said that one of the core principles of Seoul-based WeGO is reducing the existing gap between cities in terms of smart city development.

"The prize represents a common affair for humanity that human-centered technologies will usher in the possibilities for sustainable prospects of a future city," said Park. "WeGO and the Seoul Metropolitan Government will strive to settle the prize as a global platform where future smart city policies can be inspired and made."

Kim Jin-man, Head of the Digital Policy Bureau, emphasized that the prize is the city's effort to "accompany the vulnerable within our community," one of the key slogans slated by Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon.

"By hosting the first Seoul Smart City Prize, people will be connected to one another via digital technologies and their community will become more solid as a whole," said Kim. "It's the human-centered inclusiveness and the smart city vision that the city authority wishes to share with the world."

Seoul's digital governance capabilities have repeatedly gained international recognition, earning it top honors seven times, particularly in the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector. Most recently, the city was named "Smart City of 2022" at the Smart City Expo World Congress in Barcelona, Spain last November.

aoshima11@koreatimes.co.kr