The Drive of the Mayor of Mir City

Pangyo Techno Valley is South Korea's largest IT hub.

It houses everything from software giants like Hancom to major platform companies like Kakao and Naver, and gaming powerhouses like Nexon and NCSoft.

Because it was one of Seongnam City's greatest assets, Mayor Choi Gwang-seop felt a mounting sense of crisis.

It was like a similar restaurant opening up right next door ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to a legendary, long-established eatery.

A restaurant that threatened to poach the original's talented chefs.

Mayor Choi Gwang-seop immediately called an emergency political affairs meeting.

"Should we block them from hanging recruitment banners...?"

One of the directors asked a rather foolish question, prompted by how incredibly grave the mayor looked.

"If we do something like that, we'll just look like idiots. Besides, if they want to hang them on private bulletin boards, we can't stop them anyway," Choi Gwang-seop snapped.

"Instead of that, shouldn't we be building our own sandbox? Everyone, review what we need and get it sorted out quickly."

Fortunately, Seongnam City Hall had a track record of nurturing countless IT companies, so they were capable of whipping up high-quality reference materials in no time.

Furthermore, Seongnam's population neared one million, and unlike the independent Yun-hyeok, Mayor Choi Gwang-seop held significant sway within the conservative Jayu Party.

"Contact the ministers. No, let's set up meeting dates through our assemblymen. Tell them I'll go visit them myself!"

But the real problem was the mayor's own lack of expertise.

"Mr. Mayor, do you know what an SBOM is?"

At the question from Lee Seong-yeol, the Minister of Science and ICT, Choi Gwang-seop's mouth clamped shut.

"W-what was that...?"

"Or do you know what OWASP is?"

"..."

"Those terms are mentioned in the section of your proposal regarding the necessity of a sandbox."

"Ah, that... Our Information and Communications Division wrote that it was necessary. I understand it's used for security."

Lee Seong-yeol smiled faintly.

It wasn't that Choi Gwang-seop was incompetent. This was just the average for a politician. It was only that Lee Yun-hyeok was an anomaly who deviated far too much from the normal distribution.

"From the perspective of the central ministries, it's a burden to designate another sandbox in a neighboring city when we've already designated one in Mir City. If we were going to do things that way, we would have just lifted regulations nationwide through executive decrees. Why bother with the hassle of a sandbox?"

"..."

"And Mayor Choi, Mir City prepared extensively. Of course, these materials from Seongnam are excellent, but in Mir City's case, the mayor himself possessed knowledge on par with a senior developer. I cooperated with their sandbox designation because I trusted that level of preparation."

"Ah... I see. My apologies."

Choi Gwang-seop had failed.

Mir City prepared extensively?

As he made his way back in a daze, those words kept ringing in his head.

Lee Yun-hyeok hasn't even been in office for half a year! How could they have prepared so much?

Naturally, it wasn't Mir City that had prepared—it was Lee Yun-hyeok himself.

"In any case, we're in deep trouble. Chief of Staff, call another political affairs meeting."

He couldn't just let Mir City grow unchecked like this. Already, a restless buzz was spreading among the major IT corporations in Techno Valley. To exaggerate slightly, the sentiment was: Something like that was built right next door? Oh, man! I set up my company in the wrong place!

Furthermore, the sheer proximity was a critical factor. While it was difficult for a major corporation to relocate its headquarters, for the individual developers working there, commuting to Mir City instead of Pangyo made virtually no difference.

Hadn't Lee Yun-hyeok even increased the number of subway cars through transit reforms back when he was unemployed?

"We have to respond somehow."

Choi Gwang-seop foresaw that if things continued like this, his standing in the next local elections would be severely compromised.

The guy who started with Pangyo in his hands couldn't build what those IT companies needed most in three years, yet a rookie in the neighboring town pulled it off in six months?

He would look utterly incompetent.

"Mayor."

But then, Choi Gwang-seop heard something entirely unexpected from his Chief of Staff.

"We received a contact from the Mayor of Mir City. He wants to meet."

"What is he up to now...?"

"Ah, Mayor Lee. It's a pleasure to meet you."

When Yun-hyeok visited, Mayor Choi Gwang-seop welcomed him with a smile, but his tense posture was palpable.

The same went for his political staff. The awkward way they stood in the mayor's office was thick with wariness.

I just came to visit my neighbor, but the atmosphere feels like I've walked into enemy territory.

It was expected, but to Yun-hyeok, it felt a bit bitter. There was really no need for local governments to act this way toward each other.

"I would like Seongnam City and Mir City to form a policy alliance agreement."

"...?"

At the unexpected proposal, Choi Gwang-seop's brow furrowed.

"Are you talking about something like an MOU?"

"Something like that."

Choi Gwang-seop's expression turned into one that said, This guy is a total MOU maniac.

"Are you familiar with Germany's Ruhr regional alliance?" Yun-hyeok asked.

"The... Lulu?"

"The Ruhr Model. Cities like Dortmund, Oberhausen, and Gelsenkirchen allied with each other to foster different new industries and engage in joint branding. It's not an administrative merger, but an industrial alliance in the private sector. It yields high results with a small budget and minimal administrative power."

"And how exactly do we do that?"

"In thirty percent of our sandbox zone..."

A proposal came forth that absolutely no one on Seongnam's political team had anticipated.

"We will allow the existing major corporations in Pangyo to establish subsidiaries or research institutions there."

"...!"

The entire political staff of Seongnam City was thrown into confusion.

This was because, from Lee Yun-hyeok's perspective, this could pose a political risk.

Even if subsidiary corporations registered there, they might not generate much employment. Most of them would only conduct experiments or development, while production or operations were handled elsewhere. Major corporate subsidiaries were always a gray area when it came to tax revenue influx or local job creation.

Thus, it was highly susceptible to criticism: Why are you spoon-feeding that precious sandbox you worked so hard to build to someone else?

"Due to the equity structure of those subsidiaries, their achievements will ultimately flow back to Seongnam through the parent corporations. This will be politically advantageous not only for the companies but also for you, Mayor Choi."

"T-that is true, but... why on earth would you do such a thing...?"

From Choi Gwang-seop's perspective, it made absolutely no sense.

"Of course, it's not free. The startups entering Mir City's sandbox will lack money, technology, experience, management skills, and customer networks compared to giants like Kakao or Naver. On the other hand, while major corporations have those in abundance, public administrative datasets remain a scarce resource. And a sandbox where they can test things they couldn't verify due to central regulations is incredibly enticing. Don't you think there's room for mutual cooperation?"

"..."

"Let's have our city halls sign a policy agreement to mutually support and administratively cooperate in establishing subsidiaries or research institutions of major corporations in Mir City. In exchange, have those major corporations provide technical and management support to the startups in Mir City's sandbox, and even help them connect to the market."

This was the Ruhr Model of southern Gyeonggi Province.

Mir City was not Seongnam's competitor. Rather, they were partners.

While Seongnam was a platform-based corporate hub, Mir City was an AI and data-based public demonstration site.

Division of labor and cooperation.

That was the core of the Ruhr Model.

The central ministries wouldn't have to waste administrative power creating two sandboxes, Mir City would achieve rapid growth for its startups, and Seongnam City would gain demonstration opportunities for its major corporations.

"I-I understand!"

Choi Gwang-seop replied quickly, his face flushing red.

"Excellent!"

To him, this felt like a golden opportunity arriving at the eleventh hour. If he pulled this off, it would extinguish the growing dissatisfaction toward him in Techno Valley.

"And one more thing," Yun-hyeok added a condition.

"Please share some of the budget burden."

The Mayor of Mir City wasn't an MOU maniac; he was a budget efficiency maniac.

"I've never seen a local government ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠leader who literally duplicates budget money..." Kim Min-cheol said, sounding utterly dumbfounded.

Yun-hyeok had claimed he would spend 1 billion won to develop an integrated app, but the funding he secured from Seongnam City alone was 2 billion won.

Furthermore, following the joint announcement of the policy agreement, the central government and the Gyeonggi Provincial Office began reviewing an additional 5 billion won in funding.

Thus, Mir City was essentially turning a profit while executing the project.

"If a sandbox is right next door, major corporations would have found a way to exploit it regardless of how much we tried to regulate them," Yun-hyeok said.

"For example, by acquiring a startup established in the sandbox outright."

"Exactly."

"So, it's much better to open up and ensure both sides get what they want. And major corporations love ESG PR stories about supporting the infrastructure of smaller regional cities. They also welcome strategic investment opportunities that expand their touchpoints with startups."

Thanks to this, it didn't take long after the announcement for inquiries to start pouring in from all directions.

"But there is one thing our city must do," Yun-hyeok added.

"When startups develop excellent patents or ideas, major corporations are bound to covet them. As the saying goes, 'seeing is wanting.' It's even more true when they're working together in the same business zone. You know what I mean, right?"

"Of course. We will continuously monitor the situation to prevent any friction between companies internally."

"Good."

Building an IT hub like this wasn't the end; the administrative body had to constantly monitor it.

The old municipal library in Jungang-dong was reborn as a cradle for IT startups.

The worn-out reading rooms were remodeled into offices, complete with modular desks, soundproofed meeting rooms, and whiteboard paint on the walls.

The magazine archive room was converted into a seminar room dedicated to developer meetups, and high-output Wi-Fi repeaters and IoT sensors were embedded in the ceilings.

Security gates equipped with QR pads for visitors and a card-key-based access control system allowing 24-hour entry were installed. The rare book archive in the basement was transformed into a cooling room lined with server racks.

On the wall at the building's entrance, a nameplate was engraved:

Centred around this building, the entire area stretching to the front of Yeok-dong was designated as the regulatory sandbox zone.

Mir City and Seongnam City would jointly provide funding to set up startups and corporate subsidiaries.

Once subsidies from the central government or the Gyeonggi Provincial Office were released, they would utilize those as well.

And...

One of the tenant companies was tasked with developing Mir City's integrated childbirth and childcare app.

A small-to-medium enterprise in its seventh year with thirty employees, they had relocated their entire operation just as their previous office lease expired.

And MyMomSoft was left utterly tongue-tied by Mir City's shocking state of preparation.

The Mir City Council was extremely cooperative with Lee Yun-hyeok.

Under the leadership of Chairman Jeong Hyeong-seok, they had researched and enacted all four ordinances at a breakneck pace.

Meanwhile, the city hall officials had already completed the data preparation.

The Urban Housing Bureau had matched building registers and road-name-address-based coordinate information with map data, organizing it to allow precise distance and route searches within the app.

The Welfare Policy Bureau compiled all policy data from the past five years, including childcare vouchers, childbirth grants, and pregnancy congratulatory support programs.

The Administrative Support Headquarters sorted and pseudonymized text data accumulated over the years, such as civil complaints, citizen surveys, and community responses.

On top of all that, the Information and Communications Division of the Future Strategy Bureau had processed all childcare-related data within the city—including childcare facilities, pediatric clinics, obstetrics and gynecology clinics, playgrounds, child care centers, and after-school classrooms—into a digital database in API format.

"My goodness..."

Receiving the massive, flawlessly organized volume of data, the CEO of MyMomSoft gasped, covering their mouth in shock.

While the head of the local government was busy persuading ministers and negotiating with the Mayor of Seongnam, a silent war of practical execution had been waged below.

A local government moving in such perfect, systematic unison.

To think this level of data could be produced so quickly!

"If you want to work with our mayor, you have to keep up with this pace..." the head of the Information and Communications Division remarked.

Just what kind of place had Mir City become?

"How long do you think it will take to build the app?"

"Hmm..."

At the division head's question, the CEO of MyMomSoft fell into deep thought.

MyMomSoft was originally a company that developed childcare diary apps. Because they ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had relevant experience, they had won this contract.

Thus, they already possessed an existing codebase, their technology was more than sufficient, and the city hall had gathered and organized almost all the necessary data for them. On top of that, as major fintech corporations dipped their toes into the sandbox, private digital certificates were also integrated.

Virtually all the ingredients were ready; all they had to do was write the code.

In that case, to produce a prototype...

"Three weeks...? I think we can connect the data and run a demonstration by then."

MyMomSoft had swept into the slipstream of Lee Yun-hyeok's breakneck momentum without even realizing it.