The role of local governments is important in the establishment of Seoul's status as a global city and to enhance continuous growth and competitiveness. As a global city, Seoul is required to present its urban economic policy directions to adapt to the rapidly changing economic environment and to become the fifth place in urban competitiveness. This study monitors the economic policies in major cities due to changes in the internal and external economic environment after COVID-19 pandemic and to propose the direction of economic and industrial policy in Seoul.

This report consists of five chapters: 1) Introduction, 2) Analysis and Diagnosis of Macroeconomic Indicators by Major Overseas Cities, 3) Post/With COVID-19 Economic Policy Survey in Major Overseas Cities, 4) Analysis of Major Industrial Policies in Three Major Overseas Cities, and 5) Conclusions. The main contents of the study are as follows.

In chapter 2, we analyze and diagnose the trends in macroeconomic indicators by major cities in the world. Internal and external economic issues are analyzed with major macroeconomic indicators such as GDP, inflation, unemployment rate, and exchange rate for each city. The eight major cities selected are New York, Tokyo, London, Paris, Shanghai, San Francisco, Berlin, and Singapore.

Chapter 3 examines the economic policies of major overseas cities during the Post/With Corona era. COVID-19 has had a great influence on the economic activities of cities around the world since the pandemic declaration.

COVID-19 shocked the global economy in the short term, and the occurrence of international infectious diseases causes changes in the industrial structure and the collapse of the labor market. Accordingly, large cities around the world are establishing five long-term urban strategies after preparing individual crisis management and short-term strategies. The five strategies are 1) Inclusive Recovery, 2) Smart Recovery, 3) Green Recovery 4) Recovery in the Tourism, Culture, and Creative Industries, and 5) Strategies for Urban Resilience. The five urban strategies are focused on the recovery of cities, environments, tourism, culture, and industry.

Chapter 4 analyzes industrial policies for three key cities, New York, London, and Singapore, which can be benchmarked by Seoul City for the 4th Industrial Revolution and financial industries. These three cities are promoting policies and projects specialized in financial industries in response to the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The policy-focused industries are the financial industry, fintech, bio-industry, tech industry, eco-friendly industry, and digital industry.