Page 80 - U4SSC Case study Daegu, Korea (Republic of), February 2022

inhabitants) and a fire service (96.18 FTE per 100 000 inhabitants) that indicate a well-developed
infrastructure for public safety. An area of potential concern is the level of traffic fatalities, which is
reported at 4.59 per 100 000 inhabitants.

Suggested action(s) for Daegu other aspiring
Measures adopted by Daegu
smart cities
As the COVID-19 pandemic interrupted schooling, Other cities can learn from the experience of
Daegu was able to transition all students into an Daegu when its education system was shocked
online learning environment. This was also made by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The
possible due to the investments made at the local investment made in digital connectivity paid
and national level to ensure Internet connectivity dividends in allowing the education system to
and high-speed connections. continue to operate remotely.

Other cities and national governments can
learn from this experience and prioritize ICT
infrastructure development to make their cities
and countries more resilient.
To enhance public safety, Daegu implemented Daegu, as it implements its optimization
a project to optimize police response. Data are programme, will need to ensure that inhabitant
collected from the 112 emergency systems and data are secure, and that patrol optimization
analysed by AI, leading to a 3 per cent reduction does not impact negatively on vulnerable
in major crimes. communities. 22
The response to COVID-19 in Daegu was quick A key element of the response to Daegu was
and efficient. Daegu was able to manage the that its inhabitants were kept well informed,
surge in confirmed cases and prevent the collapse and that information was provided quickly and
of the medical system transparently. Inhabitants trusted the information
and acted accordingly. The trust that had been
built up among inhabitants partly through their
involvement in the Smart City Plan and the
benefits inhabitants have received from the
results, coupled with the open-data policies of
Daegu, could be seen as laying the groundwork
for the COVID-19 response.
Other cities can learn from Daegu that a history
of openness and transparency can bring positive
dividends when voluntary inhabitant actions are
needed to further the goals of a city – and when
responding to emergencies.
In the context of the pandemic, Daegu and other
cities should aim to ensure that an adequate
number of beds are available to enable
hospitalization in case of a resurgence of COVID-
19 cases or other related health emergencies in
the future.

62 U4SSC Case study | Daegu, Korea (Republic of) | February 2022