New Seoul Global Center building to open

Seoul City is scheduled to open a new office building for the Seoul Global Center on Friday that will be the nation’s largest support facility for foreign investors and residents.

The new 15-story building is located in Jongno, downtown Seoul. The city government invested 33 billion won ($28 million) in its construction over three years.

The city government has been running the comprehensive support center for foreign residents since 2008 to deal with daily living, business, education, financing and administrative affairs.

The new headquarters will allow the center to provide more convenient services, it said. It will act as the control tower of 42 support centers for foreigners across the city.

The new building will host other offices including an Immigration Office branch, the economy and trade department of the Spanish Embassy, an international bank, and CITYNET, a coalition of local authorities in the Asia Pacific region.

International organizations including the International Bar Association, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization will also soon join the building.

The building has a range of eco-friendly features including solar energy equipment and rainwater recycling systems.

By Lee Hyun-jeong  (rene@heraldcorp.com)