Yongin Special City Wins '2026 New York Festival Korea-National Brand Award'

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Choi Ki-ho] Yongin Special City has been selected as 1st place in both the city brand (CI) category and semiconductor industry leader city category at the '2026 New York Festival Korea-National Brand Award' (NYF K-NBA) hosted by the New York Festival (NYF), which is regarded as one of the world's three major advertising festivals along with Cannes Lions and Clio Awards.

At the 2026 NYF K-NBA awards ceremony held at Lotte Hotel in Sogong-dong, Seoul on the 2nd, Mayor Lee Sang-il accepted the awards on behalf of Yongin Special City in both categories.

The city was previously selected as 1st place in the semiconductor industry leader city category at the 2024 NYF K-NBA in April 2024.

The city received the highest score among local governments nationwide in the National Competitiveness Index (NCI) CI category, which conducted comprehensive evaluation of brand awareness, satisfaction, representativeness (identity), and international competitiveness.

On September 27 last year, the city held the '30th Yongin Citizens' Day' event at Yongin Mirs Stadium and announced a new integrated city brand.

The integrated city brand incorporated city identity and vision within 'one symbol,' combining CI and city brand (BI).

Mayor Lee Sang-il believed that the previous city brand was difficult to represent the image of Yongin leaping toward becoming a global semiconductor-centered city and a metropolitan area with 1.5 million residents, and instructed the creation of the integrated city brand. Following a process to gather opinions from citizens on several proposals, the integrated city brand proclamation ceremony was held at the Citizens' Day event last September.

Yongin is implementing mega-scale semiconductor projects to the point that the term 'Cheonjjo Gaepbyeok' (approximately 1,000 trillion won being invested in Yongin in the semiconductor sector) has been coined. The city is receiving high acclaim for aspects such as the expansion of infrastructure including roads.

SK Hynix will invest approximately 600 trillion won in the 'Yongin Semiconductor Cluster General Industrial Complex' in Wonsam-myeon.

Samsung Electronics will invest 360 trillion won in the 'Yongin Advanced System Semiconductor Cluster National Industrial Complex' in Idong and Namsaeup, and 20 trillion won in the next-generation semiconductor research and development (R&D;) complex (NRD-K) within its Giheung Campus. Forecasts suggest Samsung Electronics' investment scale in the national industrial complex will increase significantly in the future.

Mayor Lee Sang-il stated at the awards ceremony, ”Yongin Special City is leaping forward as a global semiconductor hub city, with semiconductor investment reaching nearly 1,000 trillion won. Yongin is developing into a city that bears a major axis of Korea's national competitiveness. So far, I have worked with city officials to exercise considerable imagination and pursue creative administration, and I am honored to receive this prestigious award from the New York Festival, which carries tradition and authority,“ he said.

The mayor added, ”I will carefully comprehend the meaning behind today's award and continue to contribute to the development of Yongin Special City and the Republic of Korea. In particular, I will ensure that semiconductor projects proceed smoothly, and through efforts including the expansion of road and railway networks, I will improve the quality of life for citizens and enhance Yongin's city brand value,“ he said.