28 February 2024, Seoul. The Philippine Embassy in Seoul welcomed the delegation from the 22nd Quezon City Council headed by Hon. Gian Carlo G. Sotto, Vice Mayor of Quezon City on a benchmarking activity in the Republic of Korea from 19 to 23 February 2024. The activity is part of the City Government of Quezon City's efforts to craft future-forward legislation tied to the automation of various government services such as electronic recordkeeping standards, online public consultation, digital voting authorization guidelines, remote participation protocols, cybersecurity training, digitalization and document management, and public access to digital archives.

The Philippine Embassy in Seoul, led by Ambassador Theresa Dizon-De Vega, assisted the Quezon City Council delegation during the 3-day benchmarking activity which included meetings with key ROK public officials for city-to-city cooperation and international partnerships. The delegation met with Honorable Lee Dong-Hwan, Mayor of Goyang City to discuss smart city best practices and future city-to-city cooperation, Hon. Hyeonki Kim, Chairman of the Seoul Metropolitan Council for productive exchanges on a fully digitalized city council, and the Digital Services Division of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea to gain insights on digital platform policies of the Republic of Korea. The Seoul Metropolitan Government also provided the delegation with a briefing through the Seoul Transport Operation Information Service (TOPIS) monitoring real-time traffic conditions and rapid response to incidents, utilizing a cutting-edge traffic information system which integrates and manages transport information (including flow and unexpected incidents) in Seoul.

In cooperation with the WeGO Secretariat headed by Secretary General Jung Sook Park, the Quezon City Council delegation also attended the WeGO 2024 Activities Kick-Off Event and received briefings on smart city best practices from Goyang City, Seoul Tourism Office, Incheon Free Economic Zone (IFEZ) Promotion Center and Incheon Smart City Corporation.

The Philippine Embassy in Seoul will continue to support visiting delegations from various local government units (LGU's) in the Philippines acknowledging their significant role in pursuing inclusive and good governance practices and sustainable development.END