Oh Se-hoon, Don Tapscott discuss digital vision for Seoul

Blockchain Research Institute Executive Chairman Don Tapscott (center) meets Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon (right) and The Korea Herald CEO Choi Jin-young (left) at the Seoul mayor's office in Jung-gu, Seoul, Monday. (Sanjay Kumar/The Korea Herald)

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon and Blockchain Research Institute Executive Chairman Don Tapscott exchanged views on how to strengthen the digital ecosystem of Seoul at Seoul City Hall Monday.

Don Tapscott is in Seoul to attend a forum on tech reshaping humanity hosted by The Korea Herald on Wednesday.

Oh said that his government was committed to providing customized information to the city's residents before they demand it.

He said that data held by central and provincial governments and departments were not still interconnected.

According to Oh, the exclusive dissemination of information to a particular group or people due to their different levels of familiarity with digital education among Seoul city residents remains a great concern for him.

The mayor said that the Seoul government was working on strategies to bridge the information gap.

Oh urged Tapscott to look at different levels of digital transformation of Seoul city during his visit and suggest ways that Seoul could upgrade itself digitally.

Tapscott highlighted factors elevating Korea’s potential, such as its educated population, computer science know-how, and substantial corporations that can bring miracles in the digital ecosystem.

Korea in the past achieved the Miracle on the Han River, and now it’s time for Korea to emerge as a new Silicon Valley in a new digital era, he stressed.

“If you can do that, it means prosperity, better government, jobs, social harmony, solving issues for actualizing Seoul Vision 2030,” added Tapscott.

Also in attendance, The Korea Herald CEO Choi Jin-young echoed the views of the mayor and Tapscott sharing his learning from recent digital transformation experiences.

Choi emphasized the need to build digital infrastructure for future technologies with the support of the Seoul government.