IDC announced that it selected 18 outstanding smart city projects in the Asia-Pacific region for 2017, and that New Zealand and Singapore were selected as the top winners. These countries were selected as the top smart city winners for two consecutive years, with winners in 4 and 3 categories, respectively, out of a total of 14 items.

In Korea, Daejeon Metropolitan City’s ‘119 Emergency Rescue Service’ was selected as an outstanding smart city project in the ‘Public Safety’ category, and Incheon Metropolitan City’s ‘Incheon Free Economic Zone (IFEZ) Smart City Integrated Operations Center’ was selected as an outstanding smart city project in the ‘Administration’ category, resulting in winners in a total of two categories.

Three years ago, IDC launched the 'Smart City Development Index' to lay the foundation for the evolution and development of major cities in the Asia-Pacific region, and as part of this study, it selects representative smart city projects in the Asia-Pacific region and holds the 'Smart City Asia Pacific Awards' ( SCAPA) annually.

The Smart City Awards used the Smart City Development Index framework of the 'IDC Government Insights' research group to subdivide smart cities into 14 categories and select three nominees for each category, and were conducted through public voting and evaluation by the Asia-Pacific public (excluding Japan) (IDC Research Team 25%, Advisory Committee 25%).

Gerald Wang, General Manager of Smart Cities at IDC’s Government and Education Research Group, stated, “Amidst a growing movement to create more localized and high-quality smart city ecosystems driven by socioeconomic changes over the past few years, smart city initiatives, along with the agenda of ‘low cost-high impact’ and national trends toward citizen-centric personalization,"The focus is on family development," he said.

Wang, the general manager, continued by saying, "Functionally, there have been notable advancements in the public safety and transportation sectors over the past few years, and investment is also increasing in various smart city functions such as education, health, land use and environmental management, smart buildings, and administration." He explained that as municipal governments and urban planners strive to build better local capabilities and improve the standard of living for citizens, smart cities are expected to become a driving force in strengthening the nation's socio-economic sustainability.