Seongdong-gu Wins Regional Statistics Contest for "Big Data Analysis of Seongsu-dong Commercial District"

Third consecutive year of awards in the big data and statistics category

Seongdong-gu, Seoul (District Mayor Yoo Bohwa) announced on November 6 that it had received an Encouragement Award in the 2026 Regional Statistics Best Practice Contest, organized by the Gyeongin Regional Data Office, for its big data analysis of changes in the Seongsu-dong commercial district. This marks the third consecutive year the district has won an award in the big data and statistics category, following the top prize at the 2024 Seoul Data Competition and the top prize in the same contest in 2025.

Yoo Bohwa, head of Seongdong-gu (left), reviews data on the Seongsu-dong area at the Seongdong-gu Smart City Integrated Operations Center. Provided by Seongdong-gu.

As Seongsu-dong has grown into a commercial district attracting visitors from Korea and abroad, large-scale capital and short-term pop-up stores have been moving in rapidly. To address gentrification, the district used data to assess these changes.

The district cross-analyzed public data, including official land prices for standard lots over the past 10 years, with private-sector consumer spending data, such as credit card sales, to track changes over time across the four areas of the Seongsu-dong Sustainable Development Zone. It examined the opening and closure of businesses around Seoul Forest Cafe Street and Seongsu Station to identify the shift toward short-term leases. In areas designated for pop-up store management, it also analyzed the impact on everyday businesses, such as clinics, as sales in the cosmetics and retail sectors increased.

The findings served as foundational data for revisions to the Seongsu-dong Community Sustainable Development Plan and the enactment of the Seongdong-gu Ordinance on Regional Integrated Management (Town Management).

Seongdong-gu established a big data center in 2019 and built the Seongdong Data Platform, which brings together administrative data. To date, the center has completed 40 analyses conducted directly by its staff without relying on outside contractors.

District Mayor Yoo Bohwa said, "This is a valuable achievement made possible by the big data center's in-house platform technology and the analytical capabilities of its staff. We will expand the use of data across district administration to bring about tangible changes in residents' lives."

Data analysis showing the percentage change in floating population in the Seongsu-dong commercial district from 2020 to 2024 as a choropleth map. Provided by Seongdong-gu.

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