Shin Sang-jin, the mayor of Seongnam, reaffirmed on July 30 his commitment to ushering in a future transportation era that citizens can truly feel through innovative mobility solutions.
During a performance report meeting for the 'Seongnam Mobility Specialized City Project' held at the city hall's first conference room, Mayor Shin shared the achievements of the ongoing future transportation innovations and the direction for future development with officials from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, related agencies, experts, and participating companies.
This project, which gained momentum after being selected in 2023 by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, has seen Mayor Shin focus administrative efforts on establishing a Seongnam-style future transportation system that integrates autonomous driving and Mobility as a Service (MaaS) through public-private partnerships.
Through agreements with participating companies and the approval of implementation plans, the mayor has developed future mobility services that citizens can experience in their daily lives.
In Seongnam-dong, Jungwon-gu, a total of 3.2 billion won will be invested from April 2024 to June 2026 to establish a Seongnam-style MaaS platform, introduce two autonomous shuttles, build autonomous driving LiDAR infrastructure, and implement vehicle-sharing services and robot delivery systems.
Notably, the Seongnam-style MaaS model, which connects autonomous shuttles, mobility hubs, vehicle-sharing, electric vehicles, and personal mobility devices, is recognized as a representative collaborative project that enhances transportation convenience between new towns and the city center while presenting a new urban transportation model.
Since taking office in the ninth term, Mayor Shin has prioritized the development of future industries and the creation of smart cities, continuously expanding into advanced mobility sectors such as autonomous driving, drones, and autonomous robots.
These policy achievements have gained recognition both domestically and internationally.
Winning the Grand Prize in the mobility category at the '2025 World Smart City Awards' and a silver medal at the '2025 LiveCom Awards' are prime examples.
Seongnam's sustainable transportation policies and future mobility vision were also highlighted as a representative case of South Korea at the UN's Sustainable Transport (EST) Asia Regional Conference held in Bangkok, Thailand, and at a side event of the UN High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) in New York this year.
Additionally, based on these achievements, Mayor Shin has been selected as the host city for the 17th Asia-Pacific Sustainable Transport (EST) High-Level Forum, scheduled for March 2027, enhancing Seongnam's status as a leading city in future transportation.
Mayor Shin plans to further refine the Seongnam-style autonomous driving and mobility service model and expand international cooperation to share experiences in future transportation innovation with cities around the world.
He emphasized, "It is crucial to develop the foundation established through this project, including autonomous shuttles and the Seongnam-style MaaS platform, into safe and convenient services that citizens can experience in their daily lives."
He added, "Through the 17th Asia-Pacific Sustainable Transport (EST) High-Level Forum to be held in Seongnam in 2027, we will share Seongnam's policies and experiences with the world and leap forward as a city leading future transportation innovation."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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