Over 150 Guests Including Ambassadors from 99 Countries Residing in Korea Invited
On the 3rd, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon will hold the Spring Reception for the diplomatic corps representing 99 countries, including foreign ambassadors to Korea, at Sebitseom.
Seoul City stated that with attendance from 99 embassies, this Spring Reception will serve as an opportunity to reaffirm the stronger partnership between various countries and Korea (Seoul) in overcoming diverse global crises such as worldwide inflation and the Turkey-Syria earthquake.
The Spring Reception will open with Mayor Oh’s one-on-one welcome to the diplomatic corps, followed by a congratulatory performance by the Seoul Boys and Girls Choir.
At the Spring Reception, Mayor Oh will deliver a welcome address and present Seoul’s future vision to become the most attractive city in the world.
The briefing will cover various future policies to enhance Seoul’s appeal, including globally leading lifestyle policies in beauty, fashion, and design that have attracted worldwide attention; policies to activate foreign investment attraction such as creating an English-friendly city; innovation policies for waterfront urban landscapes along the Han River; future smart transportation city policies composed of skyways, waterways, and underground paths; as well as waterfront emotional city and metaverse Seoul policies.
As the first local government to launch a specialized investment attraction agency, the Seoul Investment Agency, Seoul is actively pursuing aggressive investment attraction activities to attract global companies and overseas capital. By the second half of next year, Seoul plans to convert the Seoul Investment Agency into a Seoul Metropolitan Government-affiliated institution and expand the scope of investment attraction policies to include support for foreign residents, thereby conducting more proactive investment attraction activities.
Seoul is promoting a pilot project to create an English-friendly environment in Yeouido’s financial district and plans to expand it based on regional demand and public opinion analysis. The city also announced plans to gradually expand comprehensive support services in medical care, education, real estate, and administration to ensure foreigners can conduct business and live comfortably in Seoul.
Key elements of the pilot project include establishing an English-friendly kids’ cafe used by both foreigners and locals in Yeouido, opening an English-friendly library with programs such as English reading communities, and installing 13 English-priority signage boards in Yeouido to enhance convenience for foreigners.
At the end of the briefing, Mayor Oh will promote the ‘Seoul Smart City Award,’ hosted for the first time this year by the World Smart City Organization (WeGo), where Seoul serves as the chair city. He will present Seoul’s future vision toward becoming a cutting-edge smart city and ask for the active interest of the foreign ambassadors attending the Spring Reception.
Following Mayor Oh’s briefing, there will be congratulatory speeches by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and a toast by the Ambassador of Gabon to Korea, representing the diplomatic corps.
After the Minister of Foreign Affairs’ speech and the Gabonese Ambassador’s toast, informal talks and networking will continue. To achieve broader outcomes through international cooperation, representatives from the Seoul Business Agency, Invest Seoul, Seoul Housing and Communities Corporation, Seoul Tourism Organization, and the Secretary-General of the World Smart City Organization (WeGo) will join, aiming to garner cooperation and interest from the foreign ambassadors for the successful implementation of each institution’s policies.
After the informal talks and networking, all participants will board the Han River Renaissance ship to share the site where the waterfront urban landscape along the Han River will be attractively transformed, allowing for a more in-depth socializing time.
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