Kwon Min, the new head of Seoul Arisu, wants the city’s expertise in safe tap water to travel well beyond Korea’s capital, helping other overseas cities build reliable water systems while further deepening trust at home.

Kwon, who assumed the position earlier this month, said the city is committed to sharing its technology and know-how with partner cities where simply turning on the faucet can still be a health risk.

His remarks come as trust in Seoul’s tap water reaches a record high: A recent survey found that 75 percent of residents now drink straight from the tap — a level of trust officials say reflects many years of investment in water quality and pipe replacement. But safe tap water is still a distant goal in many parts of the world, which is why Kwon wants Arisu’s hard-won trust to become an exportable asset, bringing trust to places like Laos and Tanzania.

“If any city needs our technology and our know-how, we should help wherever our capacity allows,” he said in an interview with The Korea Times, adding that drinking water is more fundamental than almost anything else in daily life.

That principle is now being tested in places where safe water is not guaranteed. In Dodoma, Tanzania, outdated facilities and high leakage rates have long made it difficult to secure a stable supply of safe water, while Lak Sao in Laos has suffered from aging treatment plants and limited capacity, leaving piped water coverage stuck at just 48 percent of households.

Through its current improvement projects, Arisu headquarters aims to upgrade water facilities serving about 320,000 people in Dodoma and bring tap water for the first time to five previously unserved villages, while new systems in Lak Sao will allow residents of 14 villages — about 8,000 people — to use treated tap water instead of relying on unsafe sources.

Last year, Arisu officials also visited Hue in Vietnam to provide policy and technical advice on the city’s water supply, inspect local water facilities and recommend improvements.

The ultimate goal is not just to help partner cities install treatment plants or lay pipes, Kwon said.

“We want to share technology and operating knowledge tailored to local conditions, so they can sustain their own stable supply of safe drinking water,” he added. “I see this as a critical role that Seoul must fulfill as a responsible global city.”

Kwon plans to expand Seoul’s cooperation with a broader range of cities, using their expertise to tackle each partner’s specific water challenges and, if possible, co-develop new technologies and policies. He also wants lessons from those partnerships to feed back into Seoul’s own system, bolstering the foundation for delivering cleaner, better water to citizens.

As part of this effort, Arisu is refurbishing 111 kilometers of aging water pipes in Seoul this year and plans to continue upgrading the remaining 2,710 kilometers that still need work. At the same time, it is conducting thorough water quality tests covering 362 items to further strengthen public trust in tap water.

Moreover, he views digital technology as central to making that trust sustainable. Applying artificial intelligence (AI) and other digital tools to the water system would allow operators to analyze water quality and process data in real time while fine-tuning chemical dosing and facility operations, he said, adding that it would help make management more stable and efficient.

Arisu is already moving in that direction, rolling out AI-based plant operation technology, smart remote metering and leak alert services across production, distribution and customer service. Over time, he hopes these systems will evolve into semi-autonomous treatment plants, with AI using accumulated operating data to support process control and further stabilize the city’s water supply. This knowledge, too, would be shared with overseas partner cities once its safety and reliability have been thoroughly proven in Seoul, he added.

“Arisu is a key city asset that showcases Seoul’s high standard of water management. When tourists visiting Seoul confidently drink Arisu, it enhances their perception of the city as safe and trustworthy,” Kwon said. “We will continue developing Arisu into the city’s signature brand, trusted not only by its residents but also by people around the world.”