On the 8th (local time), the city announced that it had signed a business agreement with Northern Ireland Trade and Investment Agency (Invest Northern Ireland) at their headquarters in Belfast, UK.
Present at the agreement were Lee Seung-won (이승원) - Deputy Mayor of Sejong City's Economic Affairs, Yang Hyun-bong (양현봉) - President of Sejong Techno Park, and Anne Beggs - Director of Trade and Investment at Invest Northern Ireland.
Both organizations intend to strengthen their collaborative relationship in strategic industries such as smart city development and overseas expansion of companies. Invest Northern Ireland is a specialized institution dedicated to promoting economic growth and attracting trade and investment to the Northern Ireland region.
This agreement serves as an opportunity for both entities to facilitate overseas market exploration for startups and SMEs within their respective cities, as well as to establish joint research programs. Additionally, they will actively share information to promote business exchanges and uncover common areas of interest.
Simultaneously, Sejong City, on the same day, also signed a business agreement with KOREATECH Sejong Campus and Queen's University Belfast at Queen's University Belfast. The main focuses of this collaboration include post-quantum cryptography, cybersecurity technology, nuclear theorem, and joint conferences related to cybersecurity.
Founded in 1845, Queen's University Belfast is a prestigious institution in the UK. It is renowned for hosting the UK government-operated Centre for Secure Information Technologies (CSIT) and its excellence in cyber security research. Similarly, KOREATECH Sejong Campus actively engages in cyber security research through its support of the Ministry of Science, ICT, and Future Planning's University Information Communication Technology (ICT) Research Center (ITRC) program and its specialized undergraduate program for fostering information protection experts.
Sejong City has been actively fostering collaboration with Invest Northern Ireland, Queen's University Belfast, and KOREATECH Sejong Campus. Northern Ireland is the only region in the world where trading goods freely is possible in both the UK and EU markets. With over 1,200 global companies established there and more than 70% of new investors choosing to reinvest, the region boasts the world's highest level of financial technology (fintech) investment. Additionally, over 30% of global aircraft seats are manufactured in Northern Ireland, showcasing its international reputation in advanced manufacturing and technological development.
Deputy Mayor Lee Seung-won remarked, "Northern Ireland's knowledge-based economy is growing rapidly in the UK". He further stated, "We will utilize Northern Ireland's technological strengths to continue our steady collaboration with these institutions".
Furthermore, Sejong City's representatives will visit Angoka, a prominent cybersecurity risk management solution company in Belfast, to discuss relevant policies.
