Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon has been awarded the Gothenburg Award for Sustainable Development for his efforts to develop Seoul as a “Sharing City.” 

Park, who worked as a civil rights lawyer and activist before becoming mayor, is recognized for having integrated social issues into “sharing economy” projects, as well as raising public awareness and supporting initiatives in the sharing of information and assets, the award organizer said in a statement. 

Park is the first Korean, and the second in Asia, to receive the award. In 2006 three Japanese engineers won the award for developing the Prius, the world’s first commercial hybrid automobile.

The Vice Mayor of Seoul Liu Gyoung-gee will attend the award ceremony on Wednesday in Sweden on behalf of Park who decided to stay in the country due to current state of affairs. 

During his five years as a mayor, Park has taken a lead role in creating opportunities for sharing resources and information. He has one year left in his second term.

“I believe in the power of collective intelligence. We are helping to create an ecosystem for the sharing economy by supporting private companies that connect resources related to the citizens’ daily lives,” Park said in his acceptance speech.

“Seoul City will never cease to communicate and share values with citizens by keeping city administration transparent and open to the public. Now we are seeing tremendous changes and innovation.” 

In 2013, Seoul City launched a car-sharing businesses which provides real-time information on public parking spaces called So Car, as one of the city’s green policies. 

Seoul City also operates Sharing Hub, a website that lists Seoul Metropolitan Government’s administrative information, as well as information about the sharing economy.

“By sharing, Seoul citizens will come together which is a vital part of our vision for a sustainable future. I am happy to be part of many city mayors who are already working to move towards a circular economy.”

The Gothenburg Award for Sustainable Development, established in 2000, is given each year to people or organizations that make an outstanding contribution toward a sustainable future.

Previous winners include former US Vice President Al Gore and former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

By Kim Da-sol (ddd@heraldcorp.com)