Smart city has become possible to be built anywhere in the country

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, promulgated and implemented amendments to the Enforcement Decree of the Smart City Act on the 17th, expanding the scope of application of regulatory sandboxes nationwide.

Innovative technologies and services related to smart city can be tested without being restricted by regulations.

In addition, smart city regulatory sandboxes can be applied anywhere in the country.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (Minister Roh, Hyung-wook) announced on the 17th that it will promulgate and implement an amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Smart City Act, which reflects other revised demands.

Through this amendment, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will improve the "Smart City Regulatory Sandbox System" that allows innovative technologies and services related to smart city to be tested without regulations.

Moreover, a new system will be established to confirm the regulations quickly and private participation will be expanded by easing restrictions which allowed the registration for smart city regulatory sandboxes was possible only in smart regulatory innovation zones.

A total of 25 smart city regulatory sandboxes, which were started in February last year, have been approved so far, including autonomous driving security robots, route guidance platforms for the blind, and urban safety services by unmanned drones.

Especially, demand-response buses, which are actively demonstrated in Incheon (I-MoD) and Sejong (Shucle), are the visible results that citizens can feel, reducing the average waiting time of buses from 78 minutes to 13 minutes and travel time by 40%.

Demand-response buses change routes in real-time according to passengers’ demands. Also, they analyze passenger locations and routes with AI algorithms to follow optimal routes when passengers call from the platform (App).

The main contents of the amendment are as follows.

■ Extending scope of smart city regulation sandbox nationwide

Previously, the application for smart city regulatory sandboxes could be done in only designated cities (Sejong, Busan, Incheon, Bucheon, and Siheung) as "smart regulatory innovation zones". However, the revision this time enables the application for Smart City Regulatory Sandboxes anywhere in Korea.

Also, the application can be made immediately without the designation of the district, the necessary time has been shortened, while the application procedure for smart city regulated sandbox has been drastically simplified.

■ Establishment of a quick regulation confirmation system
A " quick regulation confirmation system " has been established to allow companies to quickly check whether the services they want to provide violate regulations or not before they apply for smart city regulatory sandbox. As a result, they can apply for sandboxes if there are regulations and if not, they can launch the project immediately.

■ Encouraging private participation in smart city construction project

To support the expansion of smart city business models through urban development projects such as new city development, the Enforcement Decree was revised to allow public-private partnership (Special Purpose Corporation, SPC) for smart city construction other than national pilot cities.

As a result, the establishment of a public-private joint corporation that can complement both the innovation of the private sector and the public interest has been feasible in smart city construction projects. The smart city building project will eventually be more activated as the private sector can reduce the risk of business and the public can utilize private innovation ideas and the Internet of Things (IoT).

“The revision of the law will let the SPC business format increase, enabling private companies such as ICT companies to actively participate in the smart city construction and stabilizing the effect of service operation in the future,” said Im-rak Choi, Director General for Urban Policy at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

Reported by 'Smart City Today'