Seoul City at the Forefront of the 'Global Cities Alliance for Infectious Disease Response'

Agreement on Establishment at 'CAC Global Summit 2020' Non-Face-to-Face International Conference
15 Sessions, 42 Cities Participating ... Introduction of Successful Quarantine Know-How

On the 2nd, Park Won-soon, Mayor of Seoul, introduced Seoul's S-quarantine know-how and proposed the establishment of an urban infectious disease response council at the 'CAC Global Summit 2020 Urban Government Mayors' Meeting' held via online video conference at Seoul City Hall.

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] "City mayors around the world agree on the need for solidarity to respond swiftly to new infectious diseases, and they aim to form inter-city councils to quickly support human and material resources."

Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon demonstrated leadership in fostering international cooperation and solidarity, including agreeing to establish a city alliance for infectious disease response, through the online international conference 'CAC (Cities Against Covid-19) Global Summit 2020' held from the 1st to the 5th of this month. It is evaluated that he introduced Seoul's successful quarantine know-how to the world and presented a vision for the 'post-Corona' era, thereby enhancing Seoul's international stature.

Mayor Park said in a comprehensive discussion on the 5th, "With 42 cities participating in this conference, we agreed to establish the so-called CAAP (city alliance against pandemic), a 'city alliance for infectious disease response,'" adding, "After concrete preparations, the official founding will take place within this year."

The event, aimed at overcoming the COVID-19 crisis and seeking a new era of great transformation, involved 42 city mayors and 156 domestic and international experts. A total of 15 sessions, including sector-specific sessions on climate and environment, distinguished guest talks, and comprehensive discussions, were conducted as audience-free video conferences for about 23 hours.

As of the 8th, the number of views of the conference videos worldwide via Korean and English YouTube channels surpassed 13 million. The city expects that, given the current trend, the views will easily exceed 20 million by the end of this month. In particular, the discussion session held on the 4th between Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon and world-renowned scholar Jared Diamond, which lasted about 90 minutes, is already very popular with over 2 million views.

Foreign media interest was also intense. About ten foreign media outlets, including Qatar's state broadcaster Al Jazeera, Turkey's public broadcaster TRT, Spain's Agencia EFE news agency, France's Le Monde, and the U.S. Wall Street Journal, visited the site to cover the event and interview Mayor Park.

In a situation where international travel is virtually halted due to COVID-19, domestic public institutions and private companies facing difficulties in exchanges are showing great interest in Seoul's initiative. There have been ongoing inquiries about video conference operation experience and know-how.

Mayor Park stated, "A solemn historical task lies ahead of us to create new standards and new history in the post-Corona era. It is an uncharted path, but therefore a path of infinite possibilities. Crisis is opportunity." He then presented five visions: ▲ Great transformation of ecological civilization ▲ Return of the local ▲ Startup renaissance ▲ Innovation and openness in the public sector ▲ Openness, cooperation, and solidarity.

He emphasized, "Even in the post-Corona era, Seoul will continue to carry the flag of openness, cooperation, and solidarity," adding, "During this period of great transformation, while overcoming the infectious disease crisis facing the world and humanity, we will boldly prepare a new future as a standard city and standard nation. We will move forward without hesitation and without stopping."

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