Seoul City’s Global Urban Competitiveness Plummets in 5 Years...Urgent Need for Growth Drivers

Analysis Results of Global City Reports on Economy and Corporate Activities by FKI and AT Kearney

Source: Provided by the Federation of Korean Industries

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heung-soon] An analysis has revealed that Seoul's urban competitiveness has significantly declined over the past five years according to major indices comparing global city competitiveness, highlighting the urgent need to establish new growth drivers.

The Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) announced on the 10th that after analyzing the global city reports related to economic and corporate activities by global consulting firm AT Kearney and the World City Comprehensive Competitiveness Ranking by Japan's Mori Memorial Foundation, Seoul's urban competitiveness has continuously declined from 2015 to 2020 due to economic issues such as corporate activities and business environment.

Seoul's Global City Index (GCI), which evaluates the current level of urban competitiveness including corporate activities and human capital, dropped six places from 11th in 2015 to 17th in 2020, marking the largest decline among the top 30 cities. In contrast, cities like San Francisco in the United States and Shanghai and Beijing in China saw significant rises in their rankings.

In the Global City Outlook (GCO) rankings, which assess future growth potential including business-friendly environment, administrative capabilities, and attraction of private investment, Seoul fell 30 places from 12th in 2015 to 42nd in 2020.

Seoul also dropped from 6th place in 2015 to 8th place in 2020 in the World City Comprehensive Competitiveness Ranking (GPCI) by the Mori Memorial Foundation’s Institute for Urban Strategies, which evaluates 40 major global cities based on economy, research and development (R&D), culture and exchange, housing, environment, and transportation/accessibility.

The FKI analyzed that although Seoul scored high in urban environment and culture within the GPCI index, its overall ranking declined due to a significant drop in the economic sector?composed of 13 indicators including GDP growth rate, wage levels, and ease of talent acquisition?from 8th place in 2015 to 20th place in 2020.

The GPCI also publishes rankings of urban competitiveness evaluated by four stakeholder groups: business executives, high-level talent, tourists, and residents. Seoul’s rankings in the global business executives and high-level talent categories fell from 9th and 10th respectively in 2015 to 28th and 29th in 2020.

Kim Bong-man, head of international cooperation at the FKI, expressed concern that "the continuous decline in foreign investment over the past three years may lead to a deterioration in urban competitiveness from an economic activity perspective," adding, "To avoid falling behind in global competition, Seoul needs new momentum such as improvements in investment and management as well as regulatory innovation in the metropolitan area."

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