Operating the Cheonan Pavilion for a 7-day, 5-night trip starting November 1 to support 8 promising local companies in expanding globally

Sharing policies and discussing joint AI and smart city pilot cooperation with major institutions in Spain, Germany, Sweden, and more

BARCELONA — Cheonan Mayor Jang Gi-su has traveled to Barcelona, Spain, to participate in the world's largest smart city exhibition, aiming to seek future cutting-edge urban solutions and support local businesses in their global market expansion.

The City of Cheonan announced on October 30 that Mayor Jang embarked on a 7-day, 5-night itinerary to attend the Smart City Expo World Congress (SCEWC) 2026, which runs from November 1.

SCEWC is the world's premier annual smart city exhibition held in Barcelona, serving as a global platform to share future urban visions and strategic directions across artificial intelligence (AI), data, and future mobility. This year’s event brings together over 1,000 cities and world-class enterprises from approximately 130 countries.

During the expo, the City of Cheonan is operating an independent exhibition space named the "Cheonan Pavilion," showcasing the innovative technologies of eight promising local enterprises specializing in the smart city and AI sectors to a global audience.

Mayor Jang plans to personally oversee the global business activities of the participating companies centered around the Cheonan Pavilion. He will also hold successive meetings with officials from key organizations in countries such as Spain, Germany, and Sweden to share AI and smart city policies, while discussing possibilities for joint technology pilot tests and cooperative urban projects.

In addition, Cheonan has been named as one of the six finalists in the Innovation category for the 2026 World Smart City Awards, advancing to the final round of competition.

Competing against 533 total projects submitted from 68 countries worldwide, the city earned its nomination with the "PRISM CITY: Innovation Hub" project—an initiative that applies AI and data technologies to civic, industrial, and urban domains based on citizen participation and public-private partnerships, alongside digital twin-based urban management.

On-site, a global support team consisting of students from Cheonan, Dankook University, and Korea University of Technology and Education (KOREATECH) is providing booth operations and interpretation services to back up buyer consultations for the participating companies.

The city plans to provide follow-up support to ensure that export consultations and technological exchanges conducted on-site translate into tangible contracts and overseas expansion achievements.

"Through this expo, we will widely promote Cheonan's outstanding smart city policies and the exceptional technological prowess of our local companies on the global stage, while actively discovering joint pilot and cooperative projects with major global cities and institutions," Mayor Jang stated. "We will steadfastly back the successful global market entry of our regional enterprises and continuously expand opportunities for international cooperation."

[ⓒ Global Economic Times. 무단전재-재배포 금지]