At a ceremony in Busan on Wednesday, President Moon stated: “Our possibilities and capacities are enough. South Korean smart cities are globally recognized for the country’s advanced information and communication technology, including the Internet of Things, and its experience in building many successful new cities.”
At the ceremony, which was held in a city near Seoul, two new smart city plans which are to be built in Sejong, were unveiled. The South Korean government plans to spend 3.7 trillion won ($3.3 billion) on the smart cities by 2021.
The latest and most advanced technologies such as IoT will be implemented where data will be collected and information will be supplied that will help manage the cities more efficiently and allow its residents to use their time and available resources more effectively.
Moon said that those who choose to live in the newly developed smart cities will save around a total of 124 hour per year. 60 hours of commuting, 20 hours of administrative tasks and 5 hours in hospital wait time. He also went on to say that the rate of car accidents could be halved and crime rates reduced by 25 per cent.
He plans to make robots readily available to help elderly people and robotic valet assistance to park cars which in turn, help reduce costs.
“It is an ambitious plan to build a new smart city that perfectly combines fourth industrial revolution technologies with cities from scratch, instead of remodeling or redeveloping an existing city,” said Moon.
He also emphasized the importance of the smart cities success as it will be the world’s first. “While a smart city is a safe and future-oriented city, it is also a platform for innovative growth of the Republic of Korea,” said Moon. “It is also one for the areas whose global markets are expected to grow at the fastest rate.”
“Once the test cities in Busan and Sejong succeed, the country will push for overseas projects with a leading business model that will offer the entire process of planning, design, construction and management of the city in a single package,” he added.
He promised full backing by the government for the success for the new cities and exporting them.
“It’s important to make headway in smart city evolution,” said Moon.