Seoul, officially Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. The city is located on the Han River in the north-western part of the country, 60 km inland from the Yellow Sea and is surrounded by a mountainous and hilly landscape. Seoul has five UNESCO World Heritage Sites and is the cultural, economic, and political centre of South Korea.
Seoul is consistently acknowledged as the city with the highest average internet speed and hosts the largest number of DSL connections per capita worldwide. Since 2015, the City of Seoul has provided free WiFi access in outdoor spaces through a 47.7 billion won ($SUSD 44 million) government project that covers 10,430 parks, streets and other public places. In addition, the City supplies free internet access to the carriages of the KTX high-speed rail and Seoul Subway. In March 2019, the City of Seoul commenced rolling out the 5G network, further consolidating its reputation as “the world’s most wired city”.
Seoul Metropolitan Government is a Metropolis member: https://www.metropolis.org/member/seoul
The Mayor
Oh Se-hoon was born in the Seongdong district of Seoul in 1961. He studied at Hanuk University of Foreign Studies and graduated from Korea University’s School of Law.
In 2000, Oh was elected as a lawmaker for the conservative party in the 16th National Assembly of the Republic of Korea. In 2006 he was elected as Mayor of Seoul and was re-elected for a second term in 2010. Oh resigned in 2012 and was appointed a fellow at the Faculty of Social Science and Public Policy, King’s College, London
Oh Se-hoon representing the People Power Party was elected the 38th Mayor of Seoul on April 7, 2021, for a four-year term.
Seoul on the use platform
Below are 3 initiatives being implemented by the City of Seoul that demonstrate effective metropolitan governance, sustainable citymaking and the localization of the SDGs.
- Seoul Night Bus based on big data technology
- Songpa Solar Nanum (Sharing) Power Plant
- Safe City for Women
To find more case studies from Seoul, use our search function and select "Seoul" as the "city".
City profile
For a detailed profile on Seoul including population demographics, administrative structure, industry and economics, click on any of the above case studies and then select "City information".
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