Oh Se-hoon's First Overseas Business Trip... Promoting Seoul's Charm in Singapore and Ho Chi Minh City

Official Visit Invited by World Cities Summit (WCS)
Keynote Speech at WCS Mayors Forum
Exploring Policies at Singapore Public Housing and Urban Mixed-Use Development Sites
Announcing Seoul Tourism Resumption and Expanding Local Market Access in Ho Chi Minh

Mayor Oh Se-hoon, who was elected as the Seoul mayor for the fourth term, is arriving at the city hall main building on the 2nd. Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyemin] Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon will embark on his first overseas business trip for 6 nights and 7 days starting from the 29th to ASEAN strategic cities Singapore and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Seoul City announced on the 28th that Mayor Oh will depart for his overseas trip upon the official invitation from the organizers of the 'World Cities Summit (WCS)' held in Singapore.

The WCS is a gathering where mayors from cities around the world, along with political, business, and academic figures, come together to share challenges toward becoming sustainable cities and to form new partnerships. It is hosted every two years by the Centre for Liveable Cities (CLC) and the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) of Singapore. This year, it will be held for four days from the 31st at the Marina Bay Sands Convention Centre under the theme "Liveable and Sustainable Cities: Emerging Stronger."

At this WCS, Mayor Oh plans to promote the vision of "Together · Attractive Special City Seoul" to over 90 cities worldwide. At the 'World Cities Summit Mayors Forum (WCSMF)', held face-to-face for the first time in three years, he will deliver a keynote speech highlighting Seoul’s leading policies on global agendas such as digital transformation and carbon neutrality.

Mayor Oh will also visit sites related to public housing and urban complex development policies. He will explore ways to apply Seoul’s policies by visiting exemplary cases such as the multi-generational integrated public housing "Kampung Admiralty" and the ultra-high-density mixed-use development complex "Marina One." He will meet with key Singapore government officials, including Desmond Lee, Minister for National Development, and listen to Singapore’s smart healthcare policies.

From August 2nd to 3rd, he will move to Ho Chi Minh City, the economic capital of Vietnam, to strengthen intercity cooperation and focus on future growth engines and job creation.

Vietnam is one of the countries where domestic companies, from startups to large corporations, are most actively expanding their business activities. Among them, Ho Chi Minh City has maintained close cooperation, exemplified by the city’s opening of the first startup global growth hub, "Seoul Startup Hub Ho Chi Minh," in May last year.

Mayor Oh will meet with Phan Van Mai, Chairman of the People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City, to discuss expanding partnerships. He also plans to establish a cooperative framework with the Vietnamese Ministry of Science and Technology to broaden the entry of Seoul’s excellent tech startups into the Vietnamese market. He will hold a roundtable with startup representatives operating in Vietnam to listen to their needs and challenges requiring city support.

Additionally, he will visit the "Saigon Hi-Tech Park," a high-tech cluster established by the Vietnamese government to attract global advanced companies, and meet with Korean companies achieving export success there. He will also meet with about 40 economic figures, including company representatives and heads of corporations operating in Vietnam, to discuss local difficulties and cooperation plans with Seoul City.

Mayor Oh will also engage in tourism sales activities in Ho Chi Minh City. He will hold Seoul tourism promotions and tourism briefings for local travel industry professionals. Through various events such as mini talk shows, he will personally introduce Seoul’s transformations and new "hot spots" including the Blue House and Gwanghwamun Square.

Mayor Oh said, "Through this trip to Singapore and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, I will introduce Seoul’s vision to the world and use this opportunity to declare a new leap forward for Seoul tourism. Especially since these two countries are ASEAN strategic cities with potential markets for future growth engines and job creation, we will further strengthen intercity cooperation and expand the entry paths for our companies."

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