– Korea-English innovation twins project started… Consultation on collaboration and demonstration projects –
Sejong Special Self-Governing City (Mayor Chun-Hee Lee) has teamed up with the city of Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland, to engage in full-scale cooperation in various urban innovation fields, including smart cities and mobility.
The city announced on the 7th that it had participated in the 'Korea-British Innovation Twins Project' initiation event hosted by the UK Regional Innovation Corporation to link Korea and Britain through video, and discussed cooperation projects such as mutual smart city with the city of Belfast, UK.
This project is to promote economic development, trade and SME promotion, advance into third countries market, research and development, and joint development of smart cities through innovative cooperation between local governments of the two countries, and is supported by the UK central government.
The British government suggested that the project was highly similar in that Korea and Britain were promoting innovative technologies in various fields such as mobility, healthcare, and energy efficiency in each region, as well as a central government-centered decision-making system.
Accordingly, Sejong, a leading smart city city, will cooperate with Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland, to create jobs in both countries, global access of participating companies, joint prosperity, and solving urban challenges.
The city of Belfast, which will cooperate with Sejong City, used to be Ireland's leading commercial and industrial center.
Recently, Belfast City is making efforts to develop innovative technologies and attract industries, and was also selected as a Pioneer City by the World Economic Forum (WEF) to find out how to use smart city technology ethically.
In particular, Sejong City and Belfast City in the UK will promote long-term and short-term cooperation in areas such as smart city, mobility and activation technology, economic development and diversification, support for start-ups and SMEs, and research and innovation collaboration.
Following the launch event, both cities will establish cooperation and demonstration models through specific projects, such as establishing a work environment for knowledge sharing activities and online collaboration.
Mark Graham, director of the Northern Ireland Investment Agency in the UK, said, “I hope that we will expand our cooperative relationship with Sejong, a national pilot city of smart city in Korea, as well as economic development, research and innovation fields such as support for start-ups and SMEs as well as smart city cooperation. I hope,” he said.
Lee Yong-il, Ambassador of International Relations to Sejong City, said, “Through the pilot project between Sejong and Belfast, we will lay the foundation for mutual research and business cooperation for urban solutions. ” he replied.