Yongin Transforms into a Smart City Infused with AI, IoT, and Big Data

'Smart City Mid-to-Long Term Roadmap' Approved by MOLIT
Specialized Advanced Mobility and Control Services by 4 Zones

Yongin City in Gyeonggi Province is transforming into a smart city infused with advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), and big data.

On the 20th, Yongin City announced that its “Yongin Smart City Plan,” a mid- to long-term roadmap for building smart services from this year through 2027, has received final approval from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. According to the Smart City Act, local governments must establish a smart city plan and obtain approval from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport before implementing smart city construction projects.

With the plan’s approval, the city expects major projects based on the smart city framework?such as the Gyeonggi Yongin Platform City development project, the Yongin Central Market and Singal Five-way Intersection smart city regeneration project, and the Yongin Central Park residential land development project?to gain momentum.

In the plan, the city set three main goals to efficiently solve regional issues using smart technologies and to build an integrated platform encompassing transportation, environment, and safety: a city with open communication and transportation connecting people; a clean, safe, and eco-friendly city; and a digital city with a leading urban operation system. To achieve these, the city devised six key strategies. It classified the city into four zones centered on large-scale development projects and allocated 16 smart city services tailored to the characteristics of each area.

Specialized Services Built for Four Zones

The Giheung-gu and Suji-gu areas, where the Gyeonggi Yongin Platform City development project and Singal Five-way Intersection urban regeneration project are underway, were designated as “New Towns.” These areas will offer future-oriented advanced transportation services such as mobility services including autonomous buses and personal mobility (PM) devices, as well as eco-friendly electric vehicle charging facilities.

The central and northern parts of Cheoin-gu (Mohyeon and Pogok-eup, Samga, Yeoksam, and Jungang-dong), where the urban regeneration project to revitalize the Yongin Central Market commercial district and the Yongin Central Park residential land development project are progressing, were classified as “Old Town.” Here, to improve residents’ living conditions, demand-responsive shuttle buses operating on big data-based route mobility will be run, and a smart waste management service will be implemented.

The southern part of Cheoin-gu (Dongbu-dong, Yangji-myeon, Namsa-eup, Idong-eup, Wonsam-myeon, Baegam-myeon) was classified as “Existing City.” Plans include creating eco-friendly green spaces through a comprehensive landslide disaster management system, integrated smart parking services, and customized smart bus stops.

To particularly strengthen advanced industrial competitiveness, the Cheoin-gu Idong and Namsa advanced system semiconductor national industrial complex and Wonsam Yongin Semiconductor Cluster were separated into an “Industrial Complex” zone. This also includes the Yangji-myeon advanced commercial complex. The city plans to connect convenient transportation networks with advanced transportation services such as autonomous buses and urban air mobility (UAM) here, and to enhance urban operation efficiency by building customized IoT services that collect and analyze data from various urban facilities.

Smart Water Metering, AI-based Multipurpose CCTV, and More

The city will expand intelligent transportation system (ITS) services, digital twin services, and smart water metering services throughout the entire city.

Existing single-function CCTVs for crime prevention, disaster, and traffic will be replaced with AI-based multipurpose cameras. A cloud-based intelligent control system linked with fire and police departments will also be introduced. Data collected from IoT sensors installed throughout the city will be managed at an integrated operation center that shares information with Gyeonggi Province and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

Meanwhile, during the smart city plan development process, the city operated citizen participation living labs, conducted citizen surveys, held the “Smart City Yongin” idea contest, and analyzed the lifestyle of Yongin citizens.

A city official said, “With this plan approval, guidelines for building Yongin Special City as a smart city have been established. We will steadily implement the smart city plan to smartly develop all urban sectors including transportation, environment, and housing, centered on advanced industries such as semiconductors.”

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