“Because of COVID-19, the great transformation of civilization has become a reality. Now we have the ‘era before COVID-19’ and the ‘era after COVID-19.’ It is an unprecedented situation in which all the environments surrounding us are divided before and after COVID-19,” Park said.

He shared some of his forecasts as to how the pandemic might change the world.

“The ‘untact’ (non-face-to-face) economy will fundamentally change the existing distribution system and consumption patterns. Home-working and smart work, which are still in the experimental stage, will become daily routines in the untact society,” he believes.

“Civilization will be transformed into ecological civilization, and citizens-centered urbanization with their active participation will be accelerated. With the development of the platform economy, the number of platform workers or specially employed workers will be increased,” Park predicts.

Seoul is already preparing to make a leap from the “world’s best public transportation city” to a model city for “green smart mobility innovation.” In the near future advanced technologies, such as autonomous driving, robot delivery, and smart parking, will be commercialized.

“We will see a new era, where you can go anywhere by self-driving cars, and you can park a car eco-friendly without unnecessary movements using the smart parking system,” Park said, adding that any crisis can provide “energy for change and opportunity.”