News
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- Publication of “Changes to Life in Seoul” (2023)
- 등록일 2023-01-06 글쓴이 seoulsolution
- The Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) published its annual Changes to Life in Seoul (ebook) on Tue, Jan. 3 so that readers can easily check out the city’s municipal direction for 2023 at a glance, covering information on new projects and programs to public facilities. This year’s Changes to Life in Seoul (2023) comprises a total of 71 projects across 9 fields, focusing on promoting Seoul as a special city of attractive charms and solidarity. The ebook introduces the city’s major projects for 2023 through illustrations featuring Haechi, the official mascot of Seoul, to convey and explain its municipal direction as a special city of attractive charms and solidarity. The ebook also features a calendar and map that detail the changes to life in Seoul according to month and neighborhood. The ebook has been designed so that citizens can easily understand the core contents of each project, and features a FAQ section that provides information on each project. For details, curious readers can take advantage of online resources via the official SMG website (ebook.seoul.go.kr), database (opengov.seoul.go.kr), and portal (mediahub.seoul.go.kr). “Changes to Life in Seoul” will serve as a guide to Seoul’s 71 new projects for 2023, which is more than previous years, and readers will be able to enjoy fun content in the form of card news, video, and more via social media and YouTube, which will also have a promotional effect of informing the public on the city’s new municipal policies and programs.
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- Safety income effective at income distribution and alleviating poverty
- 등록일 2023-11-29 글쓴이 seoulsolution
- Forum to share the performance of current policies and comparing with basic income experiments of other cities Inclusion in the budget allows for effective policy focusing on low-income earners and alleviating poverty Seoul Safety Income Forum from Wed, Dec. 20 to Thu, Dec. 21 at DDP The Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) announced that it held a special session on Seoul Safety Income at the 2023 KIEA Winter International Conference to discuss current social safety systems in Seoul, including Seoul Safety Income, and compare with income experiments implemented overseas. Seoul’s “Safety Income” pilot program is a new welfare model based on Milton Friedman’s negative income tax where households that earn less than 85% of the median income (assets less than KRW 326 million) receive assistance equal to half of the household shortfall in meeting the standard median income. In particular, the conditions for inclusion in the budget note that the level of wage efficiency (expanding supply and demand) for safety income and negative income tax (NIT) exceeds that of universal basic income (UBI) and other current welfare policies. It also shows that it is very effective from the perspectives of effective income distribution and alleviating poverty. Meanwhile, the Seoul Safety Income Project: First-Year Annual Report will be presented on Wed, Dec. 20 and Thu, Dec. 21 at the Seoul International Forum on Safety Income held at DDP. Professor Esther Duflo, winner of the 2019 Nobel Prize in economics, will meet with Mayor Oh Se-hoon ahead of the opening ceremony of the forum to discuss the future of guaranteed income systems and safety income. Professor Duflo will also give the keynote speech at the forum and participate in discussions on the results of the annual report. * Seoul International Forum on Safety Income 2023: www.sifsi.org
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- Up to 1 GW of geothermal energy by 2030 as a world-class geothermal energy city
- 등록일 2023-11-24 글쓴이 seoulsolution
- Promotion of public geothermal energy by creating geothermal landmarks in five major areas including Garak Market and Yongsan Dreamhub Overcoming barriers to geothermal energy expansion such as improving regulatory systems, providing incentives, and offering tailored consulting to address investment costs and construction delays Expects to see 518,000 tons of GHG reduction with 1 GW of geothermal energy, which is equivalent to the effects of 320,000 EVs The Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) announced to intensify its efforts to become a world-class geothermal energy city in line with global efforts for energy transition to achieve carbon neutrality. The city plans to expand the current supply of geothermal energy, which is currently at 278 MW for building cooling/heating, to a level of 1 GW (1,000 MW) by 2030, equivalent to the capacity of one nuclear power plant. To lead the expansion of geothermal energy in the public sector, the city will establish geothermal landmarks by introducing geothermal facilities in five major areas such as Garak Market and Yongsan Dreamhub. To alleviate barriers to the installation and operation of geothermal cooling/heating, such as high initial investment costs and construction delays, the city plans to introduce a new pilot municipal geothermal incentive program starting next year. The city also plans to operate an advisory/consultative group comprising experts to provide guidance from project planning to operations. The city prepared a comprehensive geothermal expansion plan with these contents as the main focus. The key focus is to transition geothermal energy into a major energy source in downtown areas, in order to address the high contribution of greenhouse gas emissions from building heating. According to the plan, the city expects to reduce 518,000 tons of GHG emissions by promoting 1 GW of geothermal energy by 2030. This is expected to have an impact equivalent to 323,839 electric vehicles. The city announced its determination to continuously increase the rate of renewable energy in Seoul with geothermal energy as the centerpiece to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
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- Seoul re-elected to the UCLG ASPAC board to lead 190 local governments
- 등록일 2023-11-22 글쓴이 seoulsolution
- Seoul re-elected to the UCLG ASPAC board of directors for ninth time, serving from 2023 to 2025 56 elected local governments including Shanghai and Taipei to cooperate with other local governments in the Asia-Pacific region Promotion of exchanges with other cities in the Asia-Pacific for win-win development by sharing policies The Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) announced its re-election to the United Cities and Local Governments Asia-Pacific (UCLG ASPAC) board of directors at the 9th UCLG ASPAC Congress held on Wed, Nov. 15 at 9 AM (local time) in Yiwu, China. Seoul first joined the board in 2004, and this year marks its ninth time serving the position. The term of office immediately begins and lasts for three years (2023–2025). 56 local governments, including Shanghai and Taipei, were elected as board members. In addition to Seoul, 11 Korean local governments including Busan and Daegu were elected as board members as well. The roles of the Korean local governments were strengthened for international cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region. The city announced that it would promote exchanges with other cities for win-win development by sharing its outstanding policies such as the “Going Together with the Socially Neglected” initiative.
Archives
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- Going Together with the Socially Neglected Index
- 등록일 2023-11-10 글쓴이 seoulsolution
- According to the World Inequality Report 2022 by the World Inequality Lab, income inequality worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic. The top 10% of the global population in terms of income distribution accounted for 52% of the global income, while the bottom 50% accounted for 8.5%. The worsening income inequality is exacerbating inequality and polarization across various social areas such as health, education, and housing, extending beyond the economic sphere. Furthermore, as new social risks, including demographic changes such as low fertility and population ageing as well as technological and economic changes due to digital transformation, continue to compound, the scope of vulnerability is continuously expanding for marginalized groups. Policy considerations for vulnerable populations are urgently needed, not only for those who are physically or economically disadvantaged, traditionally defined as socially vulnerable, but also for individuals whose opportunities in major life domains are relatively constrained due to emerging psychosocial risks, such as caregiving, emotional well-being, social isolation, and exclusion, highlighting the importance of addressing these issues as significant challenges. The Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) declared its “going together with the socially neglected” initiative in 2022 as a top priority in its overall policies to address inequality, polarization, and emerging psychosocial risks, with a focus on prioritizing the vulnerable. Furthermore, the SMG developed the Going Together with the Socially Neglected (GTSN) Index after a year-long research process. The GTSN Index is designed to diagnose vulnerability in various areas of citizens’ lives, including support for livelihood, housing and healthcare, from the perspective of the vulnerable. It serves as an indicator to evaluate the SMG's policy efforts to address these vulnerabilities. The index is structured to aggregate the performance indicators of each domain into a single index. This indicator and index system, which comprehensively assesses the performance of city-initiated policies from the perspective of the vulnerable and allows for practical utilization of the results in policy development and budget allocation, holds significant value. It can be considered a novel and distinct approach from traditional methods. < Encompassing 6 areas—livelihood and caregiving; housing; medical and health; education and culture; public safety; and social integration—with 10 tasks and divided into 50 detailed indicators > Through the operation of the GTSN Index, the goal is to early detect social risks in various areas of citizens’ lives, such as livelihood and housing, eliminating blind spots and enhancing policy effectiveness. The GTSN Index is structured as an indicator aimed at improving citizens’ lives in areas closely related to their daily lives, such as easing the housing burden for struggling young individuals, providing emotional support, and caring for the health of vulnerable elderly individuals who may even find it difficult to secure meals. The index is calculated with 2022 as the baseline, representing a value of 100, which coincides with the inception of the city's “GTSN” initiative. For instance, if the calculated index falls below the baseline value of 100, a thorough analysis will ensue to pinpoint the underlying causes. In the event that the dip in the index is attributed to heightened demand, the budget allocation will be expanded to accommodate increased support targets. Conversely, if project feasibility issues are identified, efforts will be made to enhance policy efficiency through targeted improvement measures. Each year, the systematically calculated index will be used as a basis to expand initiatives in areas where they are needed the most and to make improvements where deficiencies exist, ensuring that the most essential policies are pursued for the benefit of the citizens. In addition, the annual performance of the GTSN Index will be evaluated, and the results will be made public to the citizens.
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- [Video] Global Startup City, Seoul_startup-friendly policies
- 등록일 2023-02-13 글쓴이 seoulsolution
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- [Video] Smart City, Seoul_smart city policies
- 등록일 2023-02-13 글쓴이 seoulsolution
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- [Video] Clean and Clear City, Seoul_environmental policies
- 등록일 2023-02-13 글쓴이 seoulsolution