In 2018, the “Act on the Promotion of Smart City Development and Industry” was amended to develop the basis to designate and create the “national pilot cities” for integrating the smart city service and smart city technology in the urban space under the initiative of the State to create smart cities. 

However, in this regard, there is a need to actively develop “national pilot cities” to serve as the standard in leading smart cities, and considering this, some have pointed out that it is necessary to enact a separate law to prescribe pertinent matters. 

Therefore, the Amendment aims to set the “national pilot cities” under the “Act on the Promotion of Smart City Development and Industry” and enact a law for additionally prescribing areas of support for national pilot smart cities, such as research and development, so as to cultivate state-led smart cities and contribute to improving the quality of life of the people and enhancing the national competitiveness. 

Details

A. The Act aims to create national pilot smart cities and provide support for building and developing a research environment for the state-led smart city technologies so as to contribute to improving sustainability and the quality of life of the people, and enhancing national competitiveness through the quality improvement of cities (Article 1). 

B. Define the “national pilot smart city” as a smart city that integrates smart city services and smart city technologies into the urban space for managing intelligent cities and fostering innovative industries as designated and created under Article 6 (Article 2). 

C. Allow the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to designate a national model smart city at the request of the head of the competent local government so as to support the development and cultivation of smart city services and smart city technologies, and to realize a leading smart city (Article 6). 

D. Allow the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to appoint experts in the field of smart cities as general planners so as to manage and coordinate the entire process of creating and supporting a national model smart city (Article 7). 

E. Where the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport designates a national pilot smart city, require him/her to set the goals and performance indicators of the national pilot smart city construction project, conduct a performance evaluation based thereon, and disclose the results thereof (Article 8).

F. Allow the State, local governments, Korea Land and Housing Corporation, etc., to implement the national pilot smart city construction project and require the project implementer to formulate the implementation plan for the said project (Articles 9 and 10).

G. Organize the special committee for national pilot smart cities under the Prime Minister so as to review matters concerning the designation and release of national pilot smart cities in connection with the creation and support of national pilot smart cities (Article 14). 

H. Require a business operator who wishes to implement a smart innovation project or smart demonstration project in the national pilot smart city to create a plan for the implementation of the said project and then obtain approval from the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport so as to implement the project (Articles 16 and 17). 

I. Allow the State and local governments to provide a budget and other necessary support for national pilot smart cities (Article 18).

J. Allow the State to formulate and promote policies to cultivate new research personnel at the universities in the national smart city, and provide support for the development and implementation of educational programs so as to enhance exchanges and cooperation between research institutes, universities and companies. (Article 21).

J. Allow the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to designate all or part of a national pilot smart city as a promotion zone for innovative growth so as to provide support for innovative growth and revitalize private investment (Article 30).