Park Won-soon

Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon has won the Gothenburg Award for Sustainable Development for implementing a "sharing economy" based on programs that help Seoulites share cars, housing, parking and construction tools.

Mayor Park was also recognized for subsidizing 72 startup companies to promote sustainable development since 2012, the Seoul Metropolitan Government said Sunday.

Park is the first Korean and the second Asian region recipient after three Japanese engineers won in 2006 for developing the Prius, the world's first commercial hybrid automobile.

"The city's policies not only help reduce the living costs of young people in need of cars and housing, but have also contributed to the international green campaign initiative by saving energy effectively," said the award's chief juror Lotta Gothe.

"We value his dedication to helping the city become greener and its citizens more environment-conscious so far."

One of the city's green policies is its 2013 launch of So Car, a car-sharing program that enables short-term rentals for young people who pay per-hour rental fees of up to 6,000 won for domestic cars and up to 10,000 won for BMW Mini.

By registering on a smartphone application with a driver's license and credit card number, a resident can use the service round the clock, and select all available cars parked in the nearby "sharing zone" upon confirmation of availability by mobile phone.

As of February, the number of So Car users increased to 300,000, almost a sevenfold increase from a year earlier, with some 2,000 sharing zones nationwide.

Similarly, in 2012, the municipality launched room-sharing, a housing program that helps the elderly living alone rent their rooms to university students at around 300,000 won, only two-thirds of the market rental price.

Established in 2000, the nonprofit awards organization, operated by municipal governments and nine companies in Sweden, gives awards each year to people or organizations for outstanding performance and achievements toward a sustainable future. The prize is 1 million krona (140 million won or $122,000)

Previous winners include U.S. former Vice President Al Gore in 2007 and former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan in 2011.