Seoul City, First 'Smart City Special Zone' 1 Year... Tangible Effects Emerging in Seongdong and Yangcheon Districts

Advanced ICT Technology Integrated into Daily Life for Traffic, Safety, and Welfare
Seongdong-gu Sees 70% Decrease in Smart Crosswalk Stop Line Violations
Yangcheon-gu Reports 28% Exit Rate of Non-Disabled Vehicles from Disabled Parking Zones Monitored

The smart crosswalk installed in front of Muhak Girls' High School in Seongdong-gu (Provided by Seoul City)

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunju Lee] On the 25th, Seoul City announced that citizens' sense of impact is increasing in Seongdong-gu and Yangcheon-gu, designated as the first 'Smart City Special Zones' that focus on solving problems in daily life using advanced Internet of Things technology.

In Seongdong-gu, after establishing 'Smart Crosswalks' equipped with various new technology sensors at 14 crosswalks with high pedestrian traffic and high risk of traffic accidents, violations of vehicle stop lines decreased by nearly 70%. In fact, after installing the smart crosswalks in front of Seongdong-gu Office and Muhak Girls' High School, the number of vehicle stop line violations dropped from 24,000 to 7,000 over two months. The smart crosswalks use LED lights installed on the ground to signal green and red according to the pedestrian traffic lights. When the light is red and a pedestrian approaches close to the roadway, a warning voice alerts the danger.

The 'Reserved Parking Space Guardian for the Disabled' service being implemented in Yangcheon-gu has proven effective in preventing illegal parking. Non-disabled vehicles parked in disabled-only parking spaces heard voice guidance and left without actually parking. The Reserved Parking Space Guardian for the Disabled is a service that provides voice guidance to non-disabled drivers who park in disabled-only parking spaces.

Additionally, Yangcheon-gu has smart plugs to prevent solitary deaths among elderly living alone and customized smart security lights that self-manage faults, while Seongdong-gu operates remote management of air pollutant emission facilities that detect whether air pollution prevention facilities at automobile painting shops are in operation.

Seoul City plans to continuously expand special zone services while piloting two new services. Seongdong-gu will select 14 additional smart crosswalks this year, and Yangcheon-gu will expand the disabled parking space guardian service from the current 80 spaces to 160 spaces. Furthermore, a 'Smart School Zone Service' will be provided, which uses LED lights or electronic display boards to alert when pedestrians are present as vehicles approach intersections, and an 'Electric Charging Service Utilizing Street Lamps' will be offered, allowing electric bicycles to be charged via chargers attached to street lamps.

Lee Wonmok, Director of Seoul City's Smart City Policy Division, said, "We will focus on implementing smart city services that citizens can genuinely feel satisfied with."

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