Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon announces the Seoul Vision 2030 at Seoul City Hall on Sept. 15. (Photos: SMG)

A Seoul investment agency responsible for attracting foreign companies and capital to Seoul will be established next year.

A plan to build a specialized digital financing zone in Yeouido, Seoul, which had been put on hold, will be pushed anew.

An annual average of 30,000 apartment units will be supplied in Seoul through reconstruction and redevelopment.
These are among the takeaways of the Seoul Vision 2030, announced by Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon on Oct. 15.

Mayor Oh set a goal of making Seoul a global top five city, matching London, New York, Tokyo and Paris, by investing 48,688,8 billion won.

Seoul Vision 2030 contains 16 strategies and 78 policy tasks under four visions: a shared growth city, a leading global city, a safe city, and a passionate city.

Mayor Oh said, “Broken strata movement ladders will be restored, and declined urban competitiveness will be recovered.”

The Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) plans to create a business-friendly environment to upgrade Seoul to a global top five city, he said.

A report issued by Kearney showed that Seoul ranked 17th last year, a drop from 11th in 2015 in terms of global urban competitiveness.

To this end, SMG will inaugurate an investment attraction agency next year. The agency is Seoul’s body specializing in investments like Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) and Invest Hong Kong.

It will be charged with creating quality jobs by attracting foreign companies to Seoul and global venture capital companies to provide support to Korean companies.

Seoul plans to raise and operate offshore funds worth 1 trillion won by 2030. SMG will push ahead with a plan to build a specialized digital financing zone in Yeouido.

“Seoul Digital Financing Hub Support Center” will be established by 2025 to offer one-stop services related to the whole process of attracting global financial companies.

A map of the specialized digital financing zone in Yeouido, Seoul.

SMG set a goal of attracting 250 foreign financial companies by expanding global financial offices in Yeouido.

SMG plans to build a system in which Seoulites can care for their health via smartphone apps and smart bands.

Next year, 50,000 smart bands will be distributed and any Seoulite wanting to wear a smart ban will be supplied by the device by 2030. The step is designed to raise the longevity of Seoulites from current 71.9 to 74.8.

SMG will launch a pilot project to implement the so-called relieved income, a selective welfare system, one of Mayor Oh’s public campaign pledges.

The project will be implemented in a full-fledged manner from 2027. Seoul aims to supply an annual average of 80,000 apartment units through reconstruction and redevelopment projects. To this end, SMG plans to set aside 7.6 trillion won by 2030.

SMG plans to speed up reconstruction and redevelopment projects to supply 500,000 apartment units by 2030. Earlier, the metropolitan government announced a plan to supply 500,000 apartment units by 2030 by pursuing regulatory reform.