▲ The Jeju Special Self-Governing Province held an investment session on the theme of "Smart Island"

Jeju Island is elevating the status as safe and enjoyable Smart Island, as the quality of everyday life is improving with the advanced convergence of Internet of Things (IoT) and information and communication technology (ICT). As the infrastructure for collecting and utilizing high-quality data is established in Jeju, a world-class city of tourism visited by about 15 million people every year, domestic and foreign companies that search for new business models and investment destinations are increasingly paying more attention to the island’s potential.

The Jeju Special Self-Governing Province held an investment session on the theme of "Smart Island" at Jeju International Convention Center from 5:10 pm to 6:40 pm on May 30, the second day of the Jeju Forum for Peace and Prosperity. Hosted by In-Hwan Kim, researcher at Asian Institute for Energy, Environment & Sustainability, SNU, and presented by Insang Yoo, head of LG CNS Smart City Business Unit, this event was joined by more than 50 domestic and foreign smart city experts, related industry experts and investors including Xavier Vilalta (Smart Strategy Coordinator, Agency for Business Competitiveness, Government of Catalonia), Hesub Rho (Director-General, Future Strategy Bureau, Jeju Special Self-Governing Province), Youngsung Lee (Professor, Seoul National University), and Yong Jin Yoon (Associate Professor at KAIST, Adjunct Associate Professor at Nanyang Technological University Singapore).

Prior to presentations and discussions, Director Ki-cheol Yang of the Jeju Provincial Tourism Bureau said, "Jeju Island is well-known as a tourist destination, but it is also an inspirational city for operating creative businesses in a clean environment." He added, “Smart Island Jeju will provide attractive investment opportunities in the era of industrial revolution through conservation of our nature."

Jeju Island, which has advanced into a world-class tourist city, is preparing to take another giant leap as an economic city that can create high added value. Following Sejong-si, Jeju has one of the highest population growth in recent years, with the influence of enthusiastic migration of domestic population, relocation of enterprises, and various investment projects. Foreign direct investment also continues to grow, strengthening Jeju’s competitiveness as a big data-based Smart Island.

Since 2017, Jeju has set up a dedicated organization and expanded its infrastructure to create “data-based Jeju-style Smart City.” The island first established public Wi-Fi networks in major tourist areas, busy commercial districts, and all the buses in the province, to provide convenience to the citizens and tourists as well as to serve as important data collection points for the better city planning. As Jeju completely reorganized its entire public transportation system in September 2017, all the public buses across the island had been equipped with free public Wi-Fi.

Now, Jeju is in the process of constructing a mobile IoT platform that can collect various data based on Wi-Fi on buses and transmit them in real time. For example, a high-precision Global Satellite Navigation System (GNSS) capable of locating up to centimeters of hundreds of buses in Jeju Island, driver assistance system, and vehicle status information monitoring equipment are installed to the buses to transmit the operation information and status to the integrated data platform. The local residents and tourists can now check more accurate bus arrival times. The system to promptly alert the driver when it detects unusual symptoms is partially in service. By establishing “Integrated Jeju IoT Platform Service System Based on Public Transportation” with the Ministry of Science and ICT (executive agency: National Information Society Agency) the system detects the distance between cars, lane departure, and risks of front-end collision and warns the driver in real-time.

Gathering environmental data (humidity, temperature, and fine dust) to improve the accuracy of regional weather forecast and establishment of weather information service is underway, in consideration of the capricious Jeju climate. By the end of May, Jeju will complete the installation of 50 fixed weather stations for collecting weather observation data at bus stops and plans to expand them up to 500–700 in the future. In the long term, the province plans to develop a mobile IoT weather information service model based on the public transportation version and to establish a blockchain-based cloud weather information service model which residents and tourists can participate.
"We will build an open data hub center platform by producing valuable data from the local government and strive to develop business models through mash-up of data produced by the provincial government and private entities," said Hesub Rho, Director-General of Future Strategy Bureau, Jeju Special Self-Governing Province.

Insang Yoo, head of LG CNS Smart City Business Unit, who presented "The New Investment Opportunities Innovative Smart Island of Jeju," remarked, "Many cities and companies around the world are expanding the growth of local-specific industries. We must refrain from attracting short-term investment focused on real-estate sales, and concentrate more on the sustainable investment capital that respects the nature, culture, and environment of Jeju. "
Professor Yong Jin Yoon, Associate Professor of mechanical engineering at KAIST and Adjunct Associate Professor at Nanyang Technological University Singapore, introduced Singapore's Smart Nation Project (SNP) and NTU's eco-smart campus strategy. The NTU eco-campus is an eco-friendly smart campus that implements both research and prototype development through industry-academia cooperation with the aim of reducing energy, water usage, and waste by 35% by 2020.

▲ Xavier Vilalta, Smart Strategy Coordinator at Agency for Business Competitiveness in Government of Catalonia

Xavier Vilalta, Smart Strategy Coordinator at Agency for Business Competitiveness in Government of Catalonia said, "Smart City is still a new concept, but the technology is developing with the needs of its citizens, who are the final beneficiaries in mind." He added, "Smart City is attractive because it creates an environment of shared economy that promotes start-up growth and business-to-business collaboration," citing Barcelona as an example.
Youngsung Lee, Professor of Seoul National University’s Graduate School of Environmental Studies, said, "The key to the recent technological revolution is to create cost-effective appeal in the cities." Lee further emphasized, "The fact that future industries favor vacation spots is something that Jeju must utilize to the fullest in the future industrial planning.”