The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on June 19 that, as a result of this year's Smart City Development Project competition, Jeonju in North Jeolla Province (as a hub-type city), Ansan in Gyeonggi Province, Gimcheon in North Gyeongsang Province, and Gimhae in South Gyeongsang Province (all as small-scale cities), as well as Daegu (as a specialized district), have been selected. The purpose of this project is to solve urban problems and revitalize related industries by integrating advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) into cities.
The hub-type project is designed to serve as a base for spreading smart city initiatives nationwide. Jeonju, which was selected for this category, plans to create an AI-centered future city model with mobility solutions that can flexibly respond to spatial and service demands. The city will receive 16 billion KRW in national funding over three years. By utilizing purpose-based vehicles (PBVs), Jeonju aims to provide mobile banks, camping facilities, and other daily social overhead capital (SOC) services, while also offering customized healthcare services such as rotating mobile clinics and emergency situation monitoring for vulnerable populations.
Ansan was selected as a small-scale city in the category of responding to regional depopulation. To address population changes, the city will introduce an integrated multilingual transportation service in certain areas to ensure easy access for foreign residents. Additionally, Ansan will establish a commercial revitalization platform based on behavioral data from multicultural neighborhoods. Similarly, Gimcheon, also chosen for its response to regional depopulation, plans to develop a mobility-specialized city by introducing its own mobility services and autonomous demand-responsive transport (DRT).
Gimhae was selected for a project focused on responding to the climate crisis. The city plans to utilize idle land for solar power plants and introduce technologies to promote carbon neutrality in daily life, such as resource circulation of industrial waste plastics and energy-saving services for apartment complexes. The newly established Smart City Specialized District Project for this year was awarded to Daegu Metropolitan City, which will receive 8 billion KRW in national funding over three years. Daegu has announced plans to create an AI industry development platform specializing in robotics, mobility, and intelligent control systems.
Yoon Jongbin, Director of the Urban Economy Division at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, stated, "Through this project, we hope to create smart services that citizens can experience firsthand and that can be expanded to other regions, fostering the growth of mutually beneficial cities."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
