Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon to Attend US CES for the First Time... Accompanied by Innovative Companies

First Opening of 'Seoulgwan' and Promotion
First Participation by Seoul Mayor
Accompanied by 20 Companies
Global Sales on the World Stage
Seoul Lounge Created for Visitor Experience

Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon delivers a New Year's address at the 2020 Seoul Metropolitan Government's New Year's Ceremony held at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the 2nd. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunju Lee] Seoul City announced on the 5th that it will operate its own Seoul Pavilion for the first time at 'CES (Consumer Electronic Show) 2020,' which opens on the 7th.

The theme of the Seoul Pavilion is 'Smart City & Smart Life,' and Mayor Park Won-soon will participate in CES along with 20 innovative domestic companies.

Seoul City’s strategy is to showcase Seoul’s smart technologies to the world through individual booths centered around the 'Digital Citizen Mayor’s Office.' Six 55-inch screens will be used to implement the same digital citizen mayor’s office as the one in the mayor’s office on-site. The Seoul Pavilion will be set up in Eureka Park with an area of 290㎡ (88 pyeong) and will operate for four days from the 7th to the 11th.

The 20 accompanying companies are innovative firms selected by Seoul City that utilize advanced technologies such as big data and AI, and have passed the exhibition approval criteria conducted by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) in the United States. The acceptance rate for companies allowed to exhibit in Eureka Park is known to be about one-third.

Side view of the Seoul Pavilion to be exhibited at CES (Provided by Seoul Metropolitan Government)

Exhibits include applications that measure heart information by photographing pupils with a smartphone without separate devices, and 'AI voice actor services' where AI learns the voice characteristics of a specific person to create voices with emotions and personalities similar to human recordings. Next to the participating companies’ booths, meeting spaces are arranged to facilitate consultations with overseas buyers.

Separately, the city has set up a 'Seoul Lounge' booth in the Smart City Pavilion, designed as a small mayor’s office to create an atmosphere similar to the mayor’s office. Using hanji paper and wooden latticework, visitors can feel a Korean ambiance. The interior of the booth is used as a lounge space where IT industry officials can hold discussions. Additionally, anyone on-site can experience the digital citizen mayor’s office through tablet PCs, allowing them to check various big data information about Seoul, such as air quality and traffic conditions.

Mayor Park Won-soon said, "We expect that excellent innovative companies founded in Seoul will participate in CES, the dream stage for global companies, meet buyers from around the world, and directly experience the innovation DNA of global companies," adding, "We will introduce Seoul’s smart technologies and innovative smart administration to the world stage."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.