Seongdong-gu Launches Smart Heated Chairs in Full Operation to Prepare for Cold Wave

Preparation for Early Cold: Expansion and Full Operation of Seongdong-style Smart Heated Chairs... Operating Heated and Cooling Chairs Year-Round for Improved Resident Convenience Previously Limited to Winter and Summer

Seongdong-gu, Seoul (Mayor Jung Won-oh) is expanding the installation of Seongdong-type smart heated seats and will begin full-scale operation to prepare for the sudden cold weather.

The smart cooling and heating seats installed at bus stops operate from 5 a.m. to midnight, matching the first and last bus times. The seats have built-in temperature controllers that automatically activate the system according to the surrounding ambient temperature.

When the ambient temperature is above 30 degrees Celsius, the seat surface temperature is maintained at 28 degrees, allowing users to feel cool when sitting. Even when the ambient temperature is below 20 degrees, the seat surface is kept at 38 degrees, so residents waiting at bus stops can warm themselves against the cold. Especially in places where it is difficult to install smart shelters due to narrow sidewalks, cooling and heating seats were prioritized for installation.

In January 2022, the district first installed heated seats at 17 locations with high bus ridership. Then, in December 2022, cooling functions were added to create cooling and heating seats, which were installed at 119 locations for comfortable use even in summer. This year, seats were additionally installed at three locations including Oksu-dong and Seongsu-dong, and currently, they are operating at a total of 139 bus stops.

Seongdong-gu previously operated the smart cooling and heating seats only for eight months during winter and summer, but due to abnormal temperature changes, they plan to improve operating hours to run the system during spring and autumn with significant temperature differences, thereby enhancing convenience for residents throughout all four seasons.

Jung Won-oh, Mayor of Seongdong-gu, said, “The smart cooling and heating seats are transportation convenience facilities installed at bus stops to protect vulnerable transportation users from extreme weather such as heatwaves and cold snaps,” and added, “We hope residents can stay warm with the smart heated seats this coming winter as well.”

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