[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Seongdong-gu (Mayor Jung Won-oh) was selected as an excellent smart city in the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s ‘Smart City Certification’ contest on the 10th.
The ‘Smart City Certification System’ is a government-level certification system that comprehensively measures 63 indicators in terms of innovation, governance and institutional environment, services, and technology to evaluate the level of smart cities in Korea. Seongdong-gu was certified as an excellent local government in the small and medium-sized city category.
In this evaluation, Seongdong-gu was recognized for its smart crosswalk equipped with warning functions for vehicles violating stop lines and jaywalking pedestrians, smart shelters with comfortable environments and urban safety service functions, the nation’s first implementation of a mobile electronic log using ICT technology, the establishment of a smart quarantine system, and the enactment of ordinances encouraging citizen participation in smart city policies.
Earlier, the district formed the national-level Smart Inclusive City Bureau and prepared to realize the urban vision of ‘Smart Inclusive City’ during the 7th local government term, continuously introducing pioneering policies that utilize ‘appropriate technology’ which optimally integrates technology with administration.
In May last year, Seongdong-type mobile electronic logs, praised worldwide as an excellent example of K-quarantine, were introduced. In July, the district became the first in the nation to implement the ‘Real-time Waiting Status Information System for Screening Clinics,’ allowing people to check waiting times at screening clinics via mobile phones.
The ‘Seongdong-type Smart Shelter,’ which surpassed one million users within a year of installation and has received high acclaim, is equipped with 19 cutting-edge functions such as UV air sterilization and AI anomaly detection. It is called a ‘future-type bus stop,’ and in May, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport selected Seongdong-gu as a ‘Lighthouse City’ for the smart solution expansion project.
Through the living lab platform ‘Seongdong Residents’ Hall,’ meaning ‘living laboratory,’ the district communicates with residents by installing ‘Seongdong-type Smart Security Lights’ that allow real-time fault detection and response anytime, anywhere, creating policies together with citizens.
Additionally, the district is realizing a ‘Smart Inclusive City’ where everyone can conveniently enjoy smart technology by embracing socially vulnerable groups and promoting life-centered projects in various fields such as care for elderly living alone, dementia and missing child prevention services, and IoT-based shared parking.
Jung Won-oh, Mayor of Seongdong-gu, said, “The efforts made toward the vision of a smart inclusive city during the 7th local government term have borne fruit by being certified as a representative smart city in Korea. We will continue to strive so that no one is left behind and all residents can experience the smart inclusive city.”
Guro-gu (Mayor Lee Sung) was certified as an excellent smart city in the small and medium-sized city category in the ‘2021 Smart City Certification Contest.’
The ‘Smart City Certification System’ is an indicator-based certification system newly introduced this year to diagnose the level of smart cities in Korea, discover excellent smart city models, and promote them externally.
The award ceremony was held on the 10th at KINTEX Exhibition Hall 1 in Goyang City.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport conducted a first-round document evaluation and a second-round on-site investigation based on quantitative and qualitative indicators.
Guro-gu received high praise for its excellent smart technology and innovation, as well as its well-established promotion system and infrastructure as a smart city. In addition, it received uniformly excellent evaluations in various smart services such as the ‘Facility Smart Safety Management System,’ ‘Smart City Integrated Platform,’ ‘ICT-based Smart Services,’ and ‘Sympathy e-Guro Living Lab.’
Guro-gu established an ‘Internet of Things (IoT)-based Facility Safety Management System.’ This system predicts risks through sensors installed in aging and hazardous facilities, with 600 sensors installed at 139 locations including retaining walls, schools, and rainwater pumping stations. To allow residents to check air quality information, a ‘Real-time Ultra-fine Dust Information System’ was also installed on the rooftops of 16 community service centers.
The district also has a ‘Smart City Integrated Platform’ that links smart projects operated by the district office to a control center in real time. The integrated platform provides CCTV footage to related agencies for proactive and active responses in emergencies such as 112 and 119 emergency dispatches and support for socially vulnerable groups.
Based on information and communication technology (ICT), the district installed ‘Smart Intersection Alerts,’ ‘Alleyway Pedestrian Safety Assistants,’ and ‘Smart Poles’ to enhance traffic safety for pedestrians and drivers. The ‘Smart Farm’ center, aimed at promoting residents’ leisure activities and urban agriculture, is currently under construction and scheduled for completion in October.
Guro-gu also operates the ‘Sympathy e-Living Lab,’ which uses ICT to solve community problems. A living lab is a ‘living laboratory’ where residents take the lead in solving local issues together with technology experts and administrators. Through the living lab, Guro-gu is creating various field-oriented policies.
Gangnam-gu (Mayor Jung Soon-gyun) obtained the excellent smart city certification in the small and medium-sized city category on the 10th through the ‘2021 Smart City Certification Contest’ conducted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport last May.
The ‘Smart City Certification,’ introduced by the government to certify Korea’s representative smart cities, is awarded to local governments that demonstrate high innovation, well-established institutional environments, and smart service technologies well adapted to local conditions.
After two months of document evaluation and on-site inspections, the district received a comprehensive evaluation that it is well equipped with smart technology, infrastructure, promotion systems, and institutions, and has excellent smart capabilities in utilizing public and private data.
In particular, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport highly evaluated services provided by the district such as ‘The Gangnam,’ an integrated app offering various services, ‘Smart Gangnam Mayor’s Office,’ which enables real-time monitoring and integrated management of administrative data and local status, and the nation’s first ‘Smart Infectious Disease Management Center’ using QR codes.
The district will receive the smart city certification certificate at the ‘5th World Smart City Expo,’ the largest smart city event in the Asia-Pacific region, held on the 10th. It will also promote Gangnam’s smart city service achievements domestically and internationally as a representative smart city of Korea.
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