Oh Se-hoon: "UAM is not exclusive to the wealthy... We will introduce 'Emergency Doctor UAM' for citizens"

Seoul's Strategy for Future Cities Unveiled at UAE's Premier Investment Event
"UAM Integrated with Emergency Medical Services... First Users in Seoul Will Be Emergency Patients"
Over 100 Autonomous Vehicles Deployed Citywide... "Victory of Cutting-Edge Technology"
Traffic Safety Improvements Using AI and Drones... "Preventing Citizen Accidents"

On the 8th (local time), Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon announced, "We will soon introduce the 'Emergency Doctor UAM,' which integrates Urban Air Mobility (UAM) into emergency medical services." The plan is to utilize UAM for organ and blood transport from the early commercialization stage in 2026 and expand its scope to emergency rescue by 2030. In line with this future transportation policy, 100 autonomous buses will be operated by 2026. These will be concentrated in late-night hours and transportation-disadvantaged areas as a so-called tailored support measure for citizens' livelihoods.

Mayor Oh attended the 'Annual Investment Summit (AIM)' in the future city sector held at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre that morning and announced Seoul's future transportation policy centered on these points. The 'Annual Investment Summit' is the UAE's representative investment event, now in its 13th year. This year, it was organized into six sectors (future city, digital economy, FDI, FPI, SMEs, startups), with about 13,000 key policymakers and economic leaders from 175 countries participating.

On the 8th (local time), Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon delivered a keynote speech titled "Seoul's Strategy for a Better Future City" at the AIM (Annual Investment Meeting) held in Abu Dhabi.
[Photo by Seoul City]

Official Launch of 'Emergency Doctor UAM'... "UAM as a Core Public Medical Service for All Seoul Citizens"

In his keynote speech titled 'Seoul's Strategy for a Better Future City,' Mayor Oh presented new directions reflecting Seoul's administrative philosophy of 'accompanying the vulnerable,' including ▲expanding tailored autonomous vehicle operations for citizens' livelihoods ▲establishing an Emergency Doctor UAM service system ▲building a barrier-free public transportation environment such as the Seoul Together Map ▲improving traffic flow and safety using artificial intelligence (AI) and drones.

Mayor Oh declared the full-scale promotion of the '2024-2026 Livelihood-First Advanced Transportation Innovation Strategy' to ensure that ordinary citizens and marginalized groups can feel the benefits in their daily lives. He emphasized the administrative philosophy by stating, "Seoul is a genuine smart city where innovation and technology move dynamically, but we are paying more attention to the direction technology should take," adding, "The important thing is which direction technology should go."

Accordingly, the plan to operate the 'Emergency Doctor UAM' as a commercialized UAM service was formalized. Mayor Oh explained, "Another groundbreaking change in the transportation sector is UAM, urban air transportation," and added, "We plan to make UAM available to those who truly need it by integrating it with emergency medical services." He further elaborated, "The first users of UAM in Seoul will be emergency patients," and "UAM will not be an exclusive luxury for a few wealthy individuals but a core transportation means for public medical services accessible to all Seoul citizens."

Seoul plans to utilize UAM for organ and blood transport from the early commercialization stage in 2026 and expand its use to emergency medical care and emergency rescue by 2030. A total of 10 units will be operated, establishing a public medical and disaster relief service system worth approximately 182 billion KRW.

Above all, Seoul is focusing on the limitations of current emergency transport helicopters such as doctor helicopters and fire helicopters, including noise, environmental impact, and spatial constraints. Therefore, the 'Emergency Doctor UAM' will use eco-friendly electric energy and actively utilize 657 urban spaces such as advanced general hospitals, large buildings, and school playgrounds.

A new emergency signal system for emergency response will also be established. This system prioritizes signals when emergency vehicles approach, enabling fire trucks and ambulances to conduct rapid life-saving operations even in congested urban areas. Initially, the emergency signal system will be built and pilot-operated within this year in Mapo and Gangnam areas, then gradually expanded throughout Seoul.

On the 8th (local time), Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon delivered a keynote speech titled "Seoul's Strategy for a Better Future City" at the AIM (Annual Investment Meeting) held in Abu Dhabi.
[Photo by Seoul Metropolitan Government]

Future City Policy Embracing the Philosophy of 'Accompanying the Vulnerable'... Tailored Services Breaking Time and Space Boundaries

The plan also includes operating more than 100 autonomous vehicles across Seoul by 2026. More than 50 vehicles will be focused on expanding 'livelihood-tailored autonomous driving' services such as late-night and early-morning autonomous driving and autonomous driving in transportation-disadvantaged areas. The 'late-night autonomous bus,' a representative future transportation means in Seoul, and the 'early-morning autonomous bus' to be launched in October this year will transform into livelihood-tailored services that break time and space boundaries.

Mayor Oh introduced that he personally proposed the policy to facilitate the smooth commute of early-morning cleaning workers, calling it "a tremendous victory of cutting-edge technology." Seoul plans to start pilot operation of 'local circulation autonomous buses' in 2025 and gradually expand them from 2026.

A Seoul city official forecasted, "Autonomous vehicles are expected to also serve as urban safety guardians," and announced, "We will operate 10 autonomous vehicles for citizen safety, conducting vehicle monitoring during the day and crime prevention at night by 2026." Additionally, a budget of 7.2 billion KRW will be invested to operate 10 autonomous vehicles responsible for urban management services such as garbage collection and cleaning.

Support measures for 'transportation accompaniment' were also unveiled. To establish a barrier-free public transportation environment, an additional budget of 1 billion KRW will be invested to advance the third phase of the 'Seoul Together Map' service for transportation-vulnerable groups. This application provides customized route guidance services to citizens who have difficulty moving, such as wheelchair and stroller users and the elderly. Beyond the first phase released this year, by 2025, it will offer services that recognize text, video, and images and provide voice guidance based on learning AI technology.

Measures to improve traffic flow and safety using AI and drones will also be promoted. This involves real-time analysis of mobile communication data to predict road traffic volume and traffic signal technology that undergoes repetitive learning through generative AI. Specifically, the goal is to improve traffic flow by 30% and reduce traffic accidents by 10% in areas with chronic congestion. Traffic signal optimization based on generative AI technology will be applied, with an investment of 3 billion KRW by 2026.

Furthermore, real-time monitoring by unmanned automatic flight drones will be used to enhance citizens' traffic convenience and prevent safety accidents in construction sites and large-scale events that obstruct road traffic. Mayor Oh emphasized, "The world’s attention to Seoul’s potential as a future city in IT, healthcare, and creative industries is high," and stated, "Seoul’s urban competitiveness is at a level comparable to global mega-cities like Dubai."

On the 8th (local time), Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon attended the AIM (Annual Investment Meeting) held in Abu Dhabi and listened to an official's explanation at the UAE pavilion.
[Photo by Seoul City]