Mayor Shin Sangjin Forges Sister-City Ties with Bologna, Italy... Opens New Horizons for Cooperation in Europe's Advanced Industries

Seongnam to Link Pangyo's Advanced Industries with Bologna's Research Base
Expanding Cooperation on AI and Smart Cities; Promoting Exchanges Between Businesses and Talent
Shin Sangjin to Speak at "2026 Bologna Technopolis Festival" Opening and Tour Supercomputer
Mayor Shin Sangjin: "We Will Deliver Tangible Results Residents Can Experience"

Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, has established a sister-city relationship with Bologna, Italy, and will expand cooperation in advanced industries, including artificial intelligence (AI), smart cities and digital content.

Seongnam Mayor Shin Sangjin and Bologna Mayor Matteo Lepore shake hands ahead of their meeting at Bologna City Hall in Italy on the 16th (local time). Provided by Seongnam City.

Seongnam Mayor Shin Sang-jin said the city signed a sister-city agreement with Bologna at Bologna City Hall in Italy on October 16 (local time). This is the first time Bologna has established a sister-city relationship with a South Korean city. It is also Seongnam's first sister-city relationship with an Italian city.

The signing ceremony was attended by delegations from both cities, Bologna city council members and Choi Tae-ho, South Korea's consul general in Milan.

The two cities agreed to continue exchanges in the fields of the economy, science and technology, culture and education. In particular, they plan to share administrative experience and best practices in smart cities, digital twins and AI, and expand cooperation in creative industries, including gaming and digital content.

Mayor Shin said, "We will connect Seongnam's strengths in advanced industries with Bologna's excellent research and innovation infrastructure to expand exchanges between businesses and talent. We will work to achieve tangible results in cooperation that residents can experience."

Seongnam Mayor Shin Sangjin and Bologna Mayor Matteo Lepore sign a sister-city agreement at Bologna City Hall in Italy on the 16th (local time). Provided by Seongnam City.

Mayor Lepore said, "I hope that broad exchanges spanning innovation, technology, education and culture will allow us to share our experiences and develop our relationship into one in which our two cities grow together."

Seongnam expects the agreement to help local advanced-technology companies, which have grown around Pangyo Techno Valley, expand into the European market and increase exchanges in technology and talent.

On October 15, Mayor Shin attended the opening ceremony of the 2026 Bologna Technopolis Festival at Technopolo DAMA in Bologna, where he introduced Seongnam's competitiveness in advanced industries and its vision for smart cities.

In his opening ceremony speech, Mayor Shin said, "The competitiveness of a smart city lies not simply in possessing advanced technologies, but in how effectively those technologies are used to improve residents' lives."

Seongnam Mayor Shin Sangjin inspects major research facilities at Technopole de Dakar (DAMA), including a supercomputer with world-class computing power, on the 16th (local time). Provided by Seongnam City.

He added, "By combining Bologna's world-class supercomputing capabilities with Seongnam's capabilities in testing new technologies, the two cities could find better solutions to the urban challenges they face."

After the agreement was signed on October 16, Mayor Shin visited the University of Bologna and its historic university district to learn about its education and research infrastructure and discuss possible cooperation between educational institutions and in developing young talent.

He also toured major research facilities, including the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) and the Leonardo supercomputer. He observed how advanced computing technologies are used for weather and climate forecasting and explored the potential to apply them to solving urban challenges.

Seongnam Mayor Shin Sangjin introduces the city’s advanced industries and smart city policies at the opening ceremony of the 2026 Bologna Technopolis Festival, held at Techno Polo Dama (DAMA) on the 15th (local time). Courtesy of Seongnam City.

Building on this agreement, following its earlier sister-city partnership with Wrocław, Poland, Seongnam plans to step up efforts to help local companies centered around Pangyo Techno Valley enter the European market and promote global technology exchanges.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.