Seoul Biomedical Cluster in Nowon Vehicle Depot Area... Incorporating Citizens' Ideas

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghyun Choi] The Seoul Metropolitan Government is collaborating with citizens to draft the blueprint for the 'Seoul Biomedical Cluster (S-BMC),' which will be developed on a 246,998㎡ site in the area following the relocation of the vehicle depot in Nowon-gu by 2025.

On the 19th, Seoul announced that it will hold the 'Citizen-Created Seoul Biomedical Cluster Concept Contest' from May 20 to June 7 to gather diverse imaginations and ideas from citizens and incorporate them into the basic concept plan for the Seoul Biomedical Cluster. With a total prize pool of 6 million KRW, anyone including general citizens, students, and experts can participate.

The Seoul Biomedical Cluster project is planned for the vehicle depot area, which is effectively the last large-scale available site in Seoul. The goal is to form a biomedical industry axis linked with the 'Hongneung Biomedical Cluster,' which is being developed as a hub for bio-medical research and development (R&D) and startup incubation by attracting domestic and international biomedical companies, research institutes, and hospitals.

In this regard, the city is currently conducting a research project to prepare the basic concept plan for the Seoul Biomedical Cluster (Research on the Promotion and Attraction Strategy for the Seoul Biomedical Cluster). The plan is to reflect citizen ideas selected through this contest, conduct consultations with related organizations, gather opinions, and release the basic concept plan within the year.

Through the citizen idea contest, Seoul aims to move away from the traditional public-led development planning method and establish a citizen-participatory development plan that discovers and utilizes creative ideas that the public sector may not have considered. Proposals can be freely submitted within the contest theme. There is no limit on the number of submissions, and simple text proposals are allowed, with the option to attach drawings, videos, and document files.

The evaluation process will proceed in two stages: public viewing and voting by citizens (June 8?26), followed by a three-stage review by a judging panel (June 29?July 17). Fair evaluation by internal and external experts will focus on the innovation and originality of ideas, vision for the target site, regional specialization suitability, and feasibility.

Through the evaluation, a total of 21 works will be selected, including one grand prize winner (prize of 1.5 million KRW). The results of the award selection will be announced on July 22.

Kim Seonsun, Director of the Regional Development Headquarters of Seoul, said, "Based on ideas created by citizens through an online platform and expert mentoring, we will care for 4.8 million people in the northeastern metropolitan area and prepare the basic concept plan for the Seoul Biomedical Cluster, which will be the starting point for future growth industries." He added, "We ask for active participation from many citizens in the Seoul Biomedical Cluster Concept Contest, which will be the first step in establishing a citizen-participatory development plan."

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