Seoul’s new development plan laid out

The Seoul city government yesterday outlined a long-term economic development plan aimed at bolstering IT businesses and fostering research on the city’s most pressing issues, such as its rapidly aging society.

The city said that it will funnel 1.9 trillion won ($1.82 billion) by 2030 to conduct the plan dubbed Economy Vision 2030.

Seoul’s designated business complexes, such as Digital Media City (DMC) in Sangam-dong, western Seoul, and the Seoul Digital Industrial Complex (G-Valley), in southwestern Seoul, are among the major beneficiaries of the funds.

While the DMC neighborhood will facilitate cooperation between media and IT industries, G-Valley will serve as a hub for software development, the Seoul Metropolitan Government said in a statement.

“I think the city’s economic development should go hand in hand with the changes and trends in the business sector,” Seoul’s Mayor Park Won-soon said yesterday. “And this IT-centered plan reflects what is going on in the industry.”

A large untapped area in Gaepo-dong, southern Seoul, which is set to be developed into a multipurpose IT complex by 2016, will also play a key role, he said.

The 16,077-square-meter (3.9-acre) area will tentatively house a technology complex, which will be dedicated to assisting IT developers, investors and foreign tech companies in coming together for profitable collaborations.

The city also drew up a set of plans for it to be included in the world’s top three international convention cities, an initiative also known as MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions).

The city’s latest plan to develop a part of the area in southern Seoul surrounding COEX and the Jamsil Baseball Stadium into a new business and cultural center is in line with the Seoul government’s objective.

In Hongreung-dong, northeastern Seoul, where different research institutes are clustered together, the city will also encourage various institutes to conduct in-depth research on the impacts of an aging society.

BY PARK EUN-JEE [ejpark@joongang.co.kr]