The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on the 20th that it will start accepting applications for the 'K-City Network Global Cooperation Program' to support the global expansion of Korean-style smart cities from the 21st.
The program targets smart city planning projects for overseas cities and overseas verification projects for smart technologies held by domestic corporations. It supports the establishment of plans such as basic concepts, master plans, and feasibility studies for the development of smart cities in partner countries and the introduction of Korea's smart solutions to solve urban issues.
The K-City Network has contributed to promoting the excellence of the Korean smart city model by successfully completing a total of 49 cooperation projects in 26 countries over the past five years. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport plans to select around 9 overseas cities this year.
This program is expected to provide domestic corporations with opportunities to verify their excellent smart technologies abroad and establish a foundation for entering the global market.
This year's call for projects will be carried out in two types: planning type and overseas verification type. The planning-type project supports the establishment of plans to apply the Korean smart city development model to create new cities or develop existing cities into smart cities or to introduce smart solutions, with applications accepted from overseas central or local governments and international organizations. The ministry plans to screen project proposals and conduct preliminary consulting, selecting 3 to 4 projects by the end of the year to provide consulting support of up to 700 million won per project.
The overseas verification project aims to assist foreign cities facing urban issues in collaborating with Korean corporations to develop and build smart solutions, thereby supporting the export of Korean corporations abroad. The ministry plans to select 5 to 6 projects this year to provide up to 400 million won in verification costs per domestic corporation.
The ministry aims to raise global awareness of Korean-style smart cities and further strengthen the basis for the overseas expansion of domestic smart city technologies through this call for projects.
Yun Young-jung, director of the urban economy division at the ministry, noted, 'The K-City Network has played a crucial role in promoting Korea's smart city technologies globally and building a global cooperation network,' and added, 'This year, we will support more collaboration with overseas cities through the projects and help domestic corporations enhance their competitiveness in the global market.'