The Seoul Metropolitan Government held its first regular senior officials' meeting of the 9th popularly elected term, presided over by Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, to discuss a new growth strategy: "Boosting the Nighttime Economy."

The nighttime economy initiative, selected as the core agenda of the meeting, is a strategy to create a new growth engine for Seoul by organically linking tourism, culture, commercial districts, and transportation.

The goal is to spread the spending of the increasing number of foreign tourists to local neighborhood commercial districts and to inject vitality into the city center, which empties out after work hours, thereby creating a "global city of Seoul that stays alive 24 hours a day."

The Seoul Metropolitan Government will establish a new position of "Special Advisor for Nighttime Economy" and launch a task force (TF) involving seven departments—including the Planning and Coordination Office, Economic Policy Office, Culture Headquarters, Transportation Headquarters, Public Communication Bureau, Tourism and Sports Bureau, and Labor and Fair Trade Bureau—to lead the initiative.

The city will also concentrate its capabilities by establishing a dedicated team within the Economic Policy Office this month to manage nighttime economy policies on a regular basis.

Next month, a public-private governance body consisting of small business owners and experts will be formed to discuss measures to boost the nighttime economy that reflect regional characteristics, as well as ways to resolve conflicts with residents and promote mutual growth.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to develop an "integrated nighttime economy brand" that connects nighttime infrastructure and content scattered throughout the city.

The name will be selected through a public contest.

The city is considering designating "Nighttime Economy Mutual Growth Special Zones" centered around major night attractions such as the Han River, Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP), and Namsan, and is reviewing measures to extend outdoor business hours and support late-night public transportation.

By region, the city will strengthen connectivity for DDP so that visitors naturally move to nearby commercial areas, and will develop supporting facilities such as accommodations and commercial zones for tourists around the Seoul Arena in Dobong-gu, which is scheduled to open next year.

Waterfront spaces such as the Han River and Seoul Mulbit Naru are planned to be fostered as economic hubs where 24-hour stays and consumption are possible by easing restrictions on nighttime use.

The city will also launch the "Seoul Moonlight Night Market" brand to foster the "Yajang" (outdoor business) culture as a core content of the local nighttime economy.

It will support the revision of autonomous district ordinances to allow legal road occupancy and outdoor business in areas where pedestrian safety is secured, and will also prepare standard guidelines covering sidewalk width, business hours, and hygiene rules.

Based on this, the plan is to select five "Seoul Moonlight Night Market" locations that meet hygiene and safety standards for a pilot operation this year, and expand to 25 locations by 2028.

In addition, the city will expand the nighttime operation of cultural, sports, and tourism infrastructure and discover unique nighttime content such as "Night Sauna" at Han River parks and the "Winter Sleeping Contest" at DDP.

To ensure citizens can enjoy Seoul's nights with peace of mind, the city plans to strengthen crackdowns on disorderly behavior and increase convenience by expanding late-night bus operations.

To prevent local residents from suffering due to the operation of night markets, the city is considering requiring merchants to sign "mutual growth agreements" that include measures such as noise prevention and fixed closing times, and reviewing plans to restrict business operations in case of violations.

A plan to reinvest a portion of the profits from night markets into local environmental improvements by accumulating them into a mutual growth fund is also being pursued.

Mayor Oh Se-hoon stated, "The nighttime economy is a new growth strategy for Seoul that can only be completed when culture, tourism, transportation, and economic policies work together," and urged officials, "Please make this a representative policy that citizens can feel in their daily lives, following 'Seoul Without Loneliness,' the 'Climate Card,' and 'Revival of Gangbuk 2.0'."

Boosting the nighttime economy is also being discussed as a core strategic task by the "G3 Seoul Planning Committee," which is currently establishing the "G3 Seoul Plan," the top-level municipal roadmap to realize "Global TOP 3 City Seoul."

The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that it plans to release the "Seoul Nighttime Economy Promotion Comprehensive Plan" in early August, based on the discussions from this senior officials' meeting and the measures derived by the G3 Seoul Planning Committee.

(Photo: Yonhap News)