The city of Sejong in South Korea has become the first city in the world to receive ISO 37106 certification from the British Standards Institute (BSI). BSI measured Sejong in 22 categories, including vision management, road-mapping, citizen-centricity, urban resource management, open platform efficiency, benefits realized, and more. Sejong was scored at level III or above on average. The scale ranges from I to V: I (poor), II (in progress), III (mature), IV (advanced), and V (excellent).
Lee Won-jae, Administrator of the National Agency for Administrative City Construction (NAACC), said: “Sejong, the National Agency for Administrative City Construction (LH), and NAACC have worked together and the result has been obtaining the world’s first authorization for the smart city. I believe that it will also present a new model for cooperation between urban construction and the smart city project. We will make every effort to make Sejong a smart platform that spearheads the Fourth Industrial Revolution in collaboration with related agencies.”
The ISO 37106 standard – “Sustainable cities and communities – guidance on establishing smart city operating models for sustainable communities” – was launched in August of 2016 and provides guidance for leaders in smart cities and communities on how to develop an open, collaborative, citizen-centric and digitally-enabled operating model for their city that puts its vision for a sustainable future into operation.
Michael Lam, COO Assurance at BSI Asia Pacific, commented: “As societies grow and populations within a community increase in density, more thoughts have to be put into the sustainable development of those communities. We’re delighted that the city of Sejong has achieved the BSI Kitemark certification for smart cities, which demonstrates their commitment to ensuring the city remains fit for the future.”
