November 13, 2018

SEOUL – WeGO took part in a forum today focused on public-private partnerships, annually arranged by the Seoul Metropolitan Government.

The 2018 Public-Private Partnership Forum was in its tenth run since the city launched the series. This year is the first that centers around the theme of smart cities.

After a presentation on WeGO by the organization’s new Program Director, WeGO Secretary General Kyong-yul Lee moderated a panel discussion on the export of smart city policies. The dialogue involved representatives of the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), Korea Small & Medium IT Business Export Cooperative (KOSMIC) and Seoul Urban Solutions Agency (SUSA).

The panelists discussed how to properly define a “smart city” and exchanged opinions on how best to approach the support of both cities and the corporate interests of SMEs in a range of situations. Secretary General Lee emphasized the projection that the market for smart cities will increase to USD 3 trillion by 2025, along with the expectation that 7 billion people will live in 20,000 cities by 2050. Discussions will therefore need to look at the question of smart cities with a much broader approach, he remarked.

The event further served as a forum for several cities—including WeGO members Hong Kong and Jakarta—to present their own cases of best practice, in addition to public and private sector representatives from Korea.