Seoul trails in competitiveness

INCHEON - Seoul ranked ninth out of 25 Asian cities in terms of urban competitiveness, as the Korean capital lagged many of its Asian peers in quality of life and ecological sustainability, a report showed yesterday.

Tokyo topped the list, followed by Osaka, Singapore, Hong Kong, Kobe, Nagoya, Shanghai, Yokohama, Seoul and Beijing, according to the report by the Incheon Development Institute and the Asia Economic Community Forum Foundation.

Japan had five cities in the top 10.

Seoul was the fourth-most competitive city in terms of "economic prosperity," one of the three criteria for evaluating urban competitiveness, along with "spatial attraction power" and "international connectivity."



Seoul placed 19th in terms of spatial attraction power, which refers to quality of economic, social and cultural life and ecological sustainability measured by housing supply, medical service, air quality, as well as income and price levels.

Seoul also placed 12th in international connectivity, which was measured by such criteria as openness to foreigners, tourist attractions, foreign cities linked with direct line service, visiting foreigners, international conferences and foreign investment.

"Good economic performance does not necessarily guarantee high quality of life. A globally competitive city must be doing well economically with good social facilities and structures, as well as good quality of the environment. The quality of life and the sustainability of the environment have recently become more important," Kang Seung-ho, a research fellow at Incheon Development Institute, said.



Incheon ranked 14th among the 25 Asian cities, placing 10th in both economic prosperity and international connectivity, but 21st in spatial attraction power.

Ulsan ranked 11th on the list, while Busan placed 18th.

The institute evaluated the urban competitiveness of a total of 42 cities in Asia, America, Europe, Middle East and Australia.

Seoul placed 26th. New York topped the list, followed by London; Chicago; Tokyo; Los Angeles; San Diego; Philadelphia; Sydney; Rotterdam; and Dublin. Tokyo was the only Asian city which made up the top ten.

Research on global urban competitiveness conducted by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences last year showed that 126 of the 150 top cities were located in developed countries in Europe, America, Oceania and so on, whereas only 24 cities were in developing nations.

(hjjin@heraldm.com)



By Jin Hyun-joo