Gangnam-gu Announces Smart City Policies to the World from Barcelona

Gangnam-gu Mayor Jo Seong-myeong Leads Delegation to 2023 Smart City Expo World Congress (SCEWC)... Mayor Jo Delivers Keynote on 'Sustainability and Smart Cities,' Engages Directly with Global Institutions and Companies... Sets Up Promotion Booth with 5 Digital Demonstration Project Partners, Aims for Smart City Awards Best City Title

Last Year's Event

Gangnam-gu (District Mayor Jo Seong-myeong) will participate in the 2023 Smart City Expo World Congress (SCEWC) held in Barcelona, Spain from November 7 to 9, promoting Gangnam-gu's outstanding smart city policies to the world.

Hosted and organized by the Barcelona City Hall (Ajuntament de Barcelona) and Fira de Barcelona, SCEWC began in 2011 and is the world's largest smart city exhibition, with about 700 cities from approximately 140 countries participating annually. This year, exhibitions in eight fields including digital transformation, urban environment, and mobility will be held, with around 20,000 city officials, businesspeople, and experts from around the world participating.

Mayor Jo Seong-myeong of Gangnam-gu will lead a delegation to participate in the expo to promote and exchange Gangnam-gu's excellent smart city policies globally. In particular, on the morning of the 9th local time, Mayor Jo will deliver a keynote speech on "Sustainability and Smart Cities" at the Smart City Seoul Policy Forum, showcasing Gangnam's vision for growth as a sustainable city. Additionally, he plans to meet again with Hugo Valenti, President of Fira de Barcelona, who visited Gangnam-gu last March, to strengthen goodwill, and participate in networking events and meetings with representatives from institutions and companies from various countries for direct communication.

Gangnam-gu, together with the Seoul Digital Foundation, Dongdaemun-gu, and Seocho-gu, will set up a promotional booth called the "Seoul Pavilion" at the Fira de Barcelona exhibition center in Spain. Under the theme "Gangnam, Embracing Digital," the pavilion will introduce digital solutions from five companies participating in Gangnam-gu's smart city demonstration projects. These include Ninewatt, which manages energy usage by building a 3D carbon map of the entire Gangnam-gu; NextCore Technology, operating an IoT flood warning system in vulnerable areas such as semi-basement houses; Removing Company, providing customized exercise services for seniors; GSIL, which uses a safety management app to prevent major accidents in advance; and JCF Technology, which prevents solitary deaths in single-person households through biometric signal detection sensors.

Meanwhile, Gangnam-gu is challenging the World Smart City Awards at this year's SCEWC for the first time. This competition selects the best cities in each category, and Gangnam-gu has applied for the Safety & Resilience Award. The district has submitted its past achievements in utilizing advanced technology to prepare for and respond to various disasters, ensuring the safety and digital rights of vulnerable groups such as the elderly, disabled, and youth, and is awaiting the judging results to be announced locally.

Mayor Jo Seong-myeong of Gangnam-gu stated, "By participating in this global expo event, we will widely promote Gangnam's excellent smart city policies and cases not only in Korea but worldwide," and added, "We will also benchmark excellent cases from cities around the world to make Gangnam a leader in the smart city field."