Navigating the Path to Smart and Sustainable Cities: Insights from South Korea’s National Strategic Smart City Program

This study evaluates the progress of Korea’s National Strategic Smart City Program (NSSCP), a flagship R&D initiative, in advancing sustainable and intelligent urban development on a global scale. Utilizing the United Nations’ United for Smart Sustainable Cities (U4SSC) framework, which integrates both sustainability and smartness in city development, this research examines the program’s alignment with global standards. The findings reveal that the NSSCP contributes to the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in areas such as health, energy, innovation, and sustainable communities. It also effectively addresses key dimensions of smart cities, including smart living, environmental stewardship, mobility, and economic vitality. Despite these achievements, this study identifies critical challenges, such as the absence of robust evaluation tools and an overemphasis on quantitative targets. This research is important in advancing the discourse on smart city development, offering insights into the efficacy of smart services and systems through the lens of the NSSCP’s cloud-based open data hub model.