Creating 10,000 New Jobs and Attracting W400 Bil. Production With the hosting of the 2005 APEC Summit, Busan will be reborn as a global city that could possibly rival Hong Kong and Singapore, said Hur Nam-sik, mayor of Busan Metropolitan City. In an interview with the Korea IT Times, Mayor Hur said that the hosting of the APEC Summit by Busan City could lead to 10,000 new jobs and 400-500 billion won in production inducement benefits. "At the same time, we plan to publicize our advanced facilities, including New Busan Port, an economic free zone, harbor logistics, machinery parts, movie industry, and IT & convention facilities, to CEOs from 21 APEC member countries, sharply enhancing the value of Busan ," he said. Noting that Busan will emerge as a core city of the international marine industry after the 2005 APEC, Mayor Hur said, "Busan will make all-out efforts to ensure that the APEC Summit will finish safely and successfully." He also said that the Busan City's hosting of the APEC Summit will offer a good chance to develop the city into a global tourism and convention city, attracting greater numbers of international conferences and tourists. Asked about the characteristics of the 2005 APEC Summit, Hur said that Korea would promote various IT structures, using radio frequency identification (RFID) technology and hold IT exhibitions, showing that the nation is an IT superpower. Related to this, the government will operate seven exhibition halls, and four Korean enterprises - Samsung, LG, KT and SK Telecom - will run their own exhibition pavilions to introduce state-ofthe- art IT technologies. In particular, the government will set up a "U-Port" exhibition hall, which will dsiplay the Busan Port's logistics disposal system using ubiquitous technology and shipbuilding machines and materials carrying IT technology. To offer APEC visitors advanced IT technology, Korea will introduce WiBro, super-speed portable Internet service, and satellite digital multimedia broadcasting (DMB) service during the APEC Summit period. "For instance, we will offer PDA and satellite DMB phones to more than 500 leaders, ministers, and representatives of the 21 APEC member countries," said the Busan mayor. On the "U-City" to be introduced at the 2005 APEC, he said, "Busan City concluded a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the nation's largest IT company, KT, in March this year for joint cooperation in establishing the U-City." Since last May, he added, Busan City and KT have mapped out and implemented the Busan U-City master plan, which focuses its emphasis on U-port, Utransportation, U-exhibition/convention, and U-health. For the U-City project, which builds such infrastructure as mobile Internet and Internet super-speed networks by making use of state-of-the-art ubiquitous technology, Busan City will invest 550 billion won by 2010, and KT plans to pour in 259.5 billion won by 2010. "When the U-City project is completed, we will see a significant improvement in competitiveness and efficiency of Busan City through easing of traffic jams and a sharp cut in logistics expenses," said Hur. Commenting that its expected economic benefits would reach 2.8 trillion won, about five times the invested amount, he said that Busan City would also strengthen its base to accelerate growth through IT companies' active participation in mega-projects and technology assistance. Pointing out that about 99.7 percent of the nation's cargoes for exports and imports are transported by sea, Mayor Hur said Busan City is actively pushing for the "U-port" project to bolster its international competitiveness in terms of harbor logistics. For the successful U-port project based on IT technology such as RFID, Busan City will establish a special purpose company (SPC) in which all entities related to harbor are participating in the immediate future, and make a strong push for the project in close cooperation with the Ministry of Information and Communication and the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, he said. The Ministry of Information and Communication, which already set aside 15.5 billion won in budget for the RFIDbased project to enhance efficiency of harbor logistics, plans to support the Busan City's U-port project first. On the merits to activate foreign investment, Mayor Hur said that Busan is adjacent to New Busan Port now in construction and an international airport, as well as large industrial estates, such as Ulsan, Changweon and Geoje. Busan also lies close by the Gyeongbu Expressway connecting Seoul, Daejeon and Daegu, and the Namhae Expressway connecting Changweon and Gwangju. In particular, Busan City has been attracting foreign investment in the 10 major strategic industrial sectors, including automobiles, shipbuilding, steel, ports, IT and bio- technology (BT). Along with this, Mayor Hur continued to say, Busan City is pushing ahead with creating a large-scale tourism estate through attraction of a global theme park and large foreign developers, including Universal Studio. As a means of expanding areas exclusively for foreign investment, Busan City plans to secure a land of 110,000 pyeong (one pyeong equals 3.3 square meters) in Hwajeon district and induce active foreign investment. During the APEC period, Busan City is also planning to launch marketing activities to attract foreign investment in such sectors as automobiles, shipbuilding, machinery, and parts. "On the occasion of its hosting of the 2005 APEC Summit, we also project to develop Busan into a center city of international conferences in Northeast Asia," he said. "After holding the APEC Summit, we plan to use the "Nurimaru" APEC House, a place for the 1st summit meeting, as facilities for international conference and build a firm foothold for the development of the convention industry through expansion of exhibition and convention facilities," said Hur. As for Busan City's strategy to publicize the city's brand through the APEC, the mayor said that Busan City will provide foreign visitors with a variety of tour programs, including a history tour to U.N. Peace Park and Busan Museum, a night city tour enjoying a night view of Busan City, and a harbor tour visiting New Busan Port. U.N. Peace Park, constructed on a lot of some 30,000 square meters at a cost of 31.7 billion won, is one of the three parks to mark Busan's hosting of APEC Summit. Busan City also refurbished the U.N. cemetery, where the fallen heroes from the Korean War are buried, and where some participants in the APEC meeting are expected to visit to pay homage. During the APEC period, Busan City will also invite CEOs from 21 APEC member countries to an investment explanatory meeting and publicize the New Busan Port, an economic free zone, harbor logistics, machinery & parts, and movie and video industries. On the countermeasures against possible terrorism, Mayor Hur said that the National Police Agency activated the "APEC guard safety control task force" on Sept. 1 to ensure safety of all participants in the APEC meeting and various facilities. The task force, composed of tactical explosive treatment personnel and other agents and equipped with X-ray and other sophisticated anti-terror outfits, will conduct terror prevention, VIP guarding and other security matters in Busan. Busan City, for its part, also launched the "APEC citizens safety service task force" comprising about 3,000 Busan citizens to ensure that the APEC Summit will be the most safe and successful meeting ever.