• Asian Journal of Innovation and Policy
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.159-176
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• 2021

Over the past two decades, smart cities have been attracting attention as a means of solving urban problems and as a model for securing urban sustainability. Many studies have been conducted in various fields such as conceptual definitions, classification, new technologies, case analysis, and civic participation of smart cities. In particular, applicable technologies and their importance have been highlighted so far. However, since a city is a complex and meta-systematic space, it is the overly optimistic prospect that technology, one of the smart city components, will lead to successful smart cities. This study elucidates the impediments to driving smart cities as a case study of South Korea, a leading country in smart technology and digital transformation. We examined three comprehensive national plans for promoting smart cities and conducted focus group interviews with experts in smart cities to analyze the obstacles to carrying smart cities. We classified the thirteen impediments into technological, industrial, governmental, and social factors as a result. Some of them are generic issues in policy establishment and enforcement, while others are specific to smart cities.