- 7.15.~7.17. The first local government to hold the '2025 World Smart City Expo (WSCE)' jointly with MOLIT
- Mayor Park Hyung-joon said, “The ‘World Smart City Expo (WSCE)’ will be a stepping stone for Busan to grow into a global hub city, and it will be showcased in conjunction with the ‘Eco Delta Smart City National pilot smart city’ that will be fully developed next year.”
□ Busan City (Mayor Park Hyung-joon) announced that it was selected along with BEXCO for the '2025 World Smart City Expo Host City Selection' competition hosted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport (MOLIT).
○ The 'World Smart City Expo (WSCE)' is Asia's largest smart city exhibition, jointly promoted by MOLIT and the Ministry of Science and ICT since 2017 to share the latest smart city-related technologies and innovations from around the world, and has been held annually at KINTEX (located in Ilsanseo-gu, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do).
○ This competition was conducted for local governments and convention centers across the country, and MOLIT announced the host city on December 2024th of last year (30).
□ The city has actively responded by establishing a collaborative system with its partner organizations, BEXCO, Busan IT Industry Promotion Agency, and Busan Tourism Organization, since the start of the public offering on October 2024th of last year (30), and has achieved this result.
○ Previously, the 'World Smart City Expo (WSCE)' was promoted as a government event, and the channels through which cities could participate were limited. However, with the complete reorganization of MOLIT's event, it has been changed to a 'city event' in which cities take the lead.
□ In particular, the city made it known that Busan and Sejong are the only two National pilot smart cities in Korea, and that Busan is a proven city that has successfully hosted various international events such as 'G-Star', 'ASEAN-ROK Special Summit', and 'Busan Mobility Show', and actively proposed to MOLIT a plan to plan and operate a tour program that will allow people to see the National pilot smart city and smart village sites at a glance by hosting it together with 'K-ICT WEEK in Busan' as a new strategy for the 'World Smart City Expo (WSCE) 2025'.
○ 'K-ICT WEEK in BUSAN' is the largest information and communication technology (ICT) event in the southeastern region, integrating three exhibitions: 'Artificial Intelligence (AI) Korea', 'Information and Communication Technology (IT) Expo Busan', and 'Cloud Expo Korea'. In addition to exhibiting innovative technologies that will lead the artificial intelligence transition (AX), it also hosts various conferences on quantum information technology and information security. Last year (3), approximately 2024 companies participated and 200 visitors attended.
□ Meanwhile, with this selection, the city is expected to host the 'World Smart City Expo (WSCE)' with MOLIT for many years, and as the 'World Smart City Expo (WSCE)' had the participation of 2024 companies from 70 countries and 330 visitors last year (3), it is expected that there will be a ripple effect on related industries such as tourism and lodging along with the effect of activating the forward and backward of digital convergence new industries through exchanges and business activities in the cutting-edge industry sector that have taken place in the metropolitan area.
○ The '2025 World Smart City Expo' is scheduled to be held from July 2025 to 7 this year (15).
□ Mayor Park Hyung-joon said, “I am delighted that Busan has been selected as the host city for the ‘World Smart City Expo (WSCE)’, which will be the first local government to do so in cooperation with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport and will be a venue for sharing cutting-edge technologies and knowledge for next-generation smart cities and a festival for smart cities from around the world.” He added, “Busan is a leader in the smart city sector, ranking 13th in the world and 2nd in Asia in the Global Smart Center Index, and this selection will serve as a stepping stone for Busan to grow into a global hub city.”
○ In addition, he added, “We plan to showcase the ‘Eco Delta Smart City National Pilot Smart City’ that will be fully developed this year together with the ‘World Smart City Expo (WSCE)’. We ask for your interest in the ‘World Smart City Expo (WSCE)’ and Busan’s leap forward.”
