Mayor Park speaks at the Cities Against COVID-19 Global Summit, hosted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, on June 2. (Photo: SMG)

Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon proposed the establishment of the tentatively named Cities Alliance Against Pandemic (CCAP), a consultative body among 42 international cities designed to cope with the spread of infectious diseases.

Mayor Park made the proposal while delivering his keynote speech at the Cities Against COVID-19 Global Summit, hosted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, on June 2. Mayor Park introduced the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s countermeasures against COVID-19 and proposed the establishment of CCAP.

The week-long global conference ended on June 5 after 15 sessions streamed live on the city government's official YouTube channel.

In his speech, Mayor Park stressed the need for city governments to strengthen the power to overcome COVID-19 by sharing each country and city’s knowledge and experiences.

He wished for the design of a standard city on health & medical care, social regimes and urban infrastructure to cope with infectious disease disasters in the future.

Mayor Park emphasized the sharing of knowledge and information on countermeasures against infectious diseases and close cooperation in manpower and material resources among cities and states.

Panelists in Korea were invited to a makeshift studio at Seoul City Hall without an audience, while others outside the country took part virtually from their offices or homes.

Various topics were discussed during the sessions, including climate change, education, urban sharing and citizen participation. Renowned speakers took part such as former United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon as well as experts.

Among the speakers were Gov. Larry Hogan of Maryland, the United States, who purchased Korean-made COVID-19 diagnosis equipment, London Mayor Sadiq Khan, and Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobaynin.

Mayors of the cities around the world adopted a Seoul-drafted declaration that called for joining the establishment of CCAP.

Mayor Park said the spread of infectious diseases in large cities regardless of borders and races is powerful. He stressed the necessity of the establishment of CCAP to enable the transparent opening of information and shift manpower and material resources support through joint efforts by the whole of the world.

In a related development, Mayor Park held a “COVID-19 Countermeasure Video Seminar” with the global startup accelerator, Plug and Play Tech Center, to introduce Seoul’s quarantine experiences and expertise regarding the city’s active response to COVID-19.

The video seminar held at the Mayor’s Office on April 17, 2020 included participation by 500 individuals from municipal governments including Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Sidney, in addition to officials of global industries such as Daimler AG, J&J, Porsche AG, Bosch, and Deloitte.

Saeed Amidi, the CEO and creator of Plug and Play Tech Center, planned a series of talks about COVID-19 with leaders from around the globe. The CEO first made the suggestion of hosting a video seminar to Mayor Park Won-soon, to which Mayor Park responded positively.

Plug and Play Tech Center, located in Silicon Valley, California, is an investment company that produced global enterprises like PayPal and Dropbox, boasting 35 branches, global conglomerates, and colleges as part of its extensive international network.

Forty minutes of the sixty-minute seminar was a one-on-one talk between Mayor Park Won-soon and CEO Saeed Amidi.

The following twenty minutes consisted of a Q&A session with participation by foreign municipal governments and officials of enterprises who addressed the current state of Seoul’s countermeasures against the infectious COVID-19 disease and leading countermeasure policies.

Mayor Park introduced innovative examples for speedy COVID-19 testing, such as the drive-through screening stations and walk-through screening centers.

He also presented transparency by providing the paths of movement for confirmed patients to the public through the use of smart technology, and described the current state of Seoul, which continues to maintain its urban functions without restricting the movement of citizens.

Moreover, Mayor Park explained that operation of the systematic and active testing system was possible due to the promptness and transparency of the SMG, the innovation of the public, and mature awareness of the citizens.

Mayor Park stressed that despite the domino effect of the prolonged COVID-19 situation on society, the SMG did not resort to shutdowns or the paralysis of urban functions, but instead made efforts for society and the economy to maintain their functions as much as possible.

Prior to the latest video seminar, Mayor Park Won-soon held a video conference with Mayor Kostas Bakoyannis of Athens on March 31 and another one with Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu of Istanbul and Mayor Pirouz Hanachi of Tehran on April 14 as a result of requests by the sister and friendship cities for the mayor to share the experiences and expertise of Seoul related to countermeasures against the COVID-19 disease.