Ahn Cheol-soo: "Seoul's Growth Rate Stagnant for 10 Years... 10 Convergence Economic Innovation Districts Including Magok"

Ahn Cheol-soo's Global Economic City Pledge
Job Creation and New Added Value Generation
Establishment of Six Seoul-style Tech Cities
Also Establishment of Small Business Owners' Safety Foundation

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the People’s Party, announced a pledge to create 10 Convergence Economic Innovation Districts in Seoul’s Magok area and others.

On the morning of the 16th, Ahn held a press conference at a vacant building in Myeong-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul, to announce the “Global Economic City Seoul” pledge, stating, “Seoul’s economic growth rate has been stagnant for 10 years,” and emphasizing, “To increase productivity, innovation in the industrial structure based on knowledge capital is absolutely necessary.”

[Image source=Yonhap News]

He then presented three major pledges: △ 10 Convergence Economic Innovation Districts △ 6 Seoul-type Tech Cities △ Establishment of a Safety Foundation for Small Business Owners. The Convergence Economic Innovation Districts plan to create jobs and new added value in areas such as Seoul’s Magok, G-Valley, and DMC. The absence of symbolic innovation hubs like Pangyo in Gyeonggi-do indicates that Seoul’s economic ecosystem is losing vitality.

The Convergence Economic Innovation Districts are envisioned not merely as research and development centers but as industrial hubs that leverage their characteristics and serve as digital infrastructure in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

If successfully established, the Convergence Economic Innovation Districts are expected to create 100,000 jobs through revitalizing startups and promoting corporate activities, and generate new added value that will become Seoul’s future economic engine. The Seoul-type Tech Cities concept involves utilizing underground railway sections to combine housing, education, transportation, and startups. It is modeled after urban regeneration projects such as King’s Cross in London, UK, and Rive Gauche in Paris, France, aiming to create free startup spaces involving universities.

Measures to support self-employed and small business owners were also included. The pledge for the Small Business Safety Foundation is a support plan that provides startup and management solutions through data held by private companies and Seoul City. Unlike the existing Seoul City support system centered on administrative agencies, it aims to strengthen connections with private companies.

Earlier, on the 14th, Ahn visited Myeong-dong and after touring the commercial district, told reporters, “If I take charge of Seoul’s administration, I will first focus on providing thick and rapid support to self-employed and small business owners who are in difficulty.” Although Ahn announced comprehensive real estate policies on the 14th of last month and the “Women’s Heart Special City Seoul Pledge” on the 29th, this is his first pledge related to economic revitalization.

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