Gwangju Innovation Promotion Committee Holds Report Meeting on Departmental Progress of Administrative Innovation Recommendations

On the afternoon of the 25th, Lee Yong-seop, Mayor of Gwangju Metropolitan City, attended the 'City Administration Innovation Recommendation Departmental Progress Report Meeting' held in the city hall's medium conference room, where he listened to explanations on the progress of city administration innovation plans and discussed specific measures. Photo by Gwangju Metropolitan City

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] The Gwangju Innovation Promotion Committee, directly under the Mayor of Gwangju Metropolitan City, held a ‘Status Report Meeting on the Implementation of Innovation Recommendations by Departments and Bureaus’ on the 25th at the city hall’s 3rd floor medium conference room, chaired by Mayor Lee Yong-seop, with innovation committee members and related public officials in attendance.

The report meeting was organized to listen to the progress of 12 out of 18 innovation recommendations and proposals delivered to Gwangju City through activities of subcommittees and special committees over one year and seven months since the Innovation Promotion Committee’s launch on November 27, 2018. Six recommendations currently under planning were excluded. These recommendations include public institution innovation, activation of municipal art groups, establishment of the Gwangju-type welfare model, and construction of an industrial policy platform.

So far, the Innovation Promotion Committee has formed four subcommittees?▲Administration & Welfare ▲4th Industrial Revolution ▲Construction, Transportation & Environment ▲Culture, Sports & Tourism?and four special committees?▲Public Institution Innovation ▲Welfare Innovation ▲Culture & Arts ▲Climate Crisis Response. Through 16 plenary sessions, 83 special and subcommittee meetings, and 7 workshops and forums, totaling 106 meetings, they gathered opinions from citizens, related organizations and groups, and public officials. They recommended and proposed 18 innovation plans to Gwangju City in 11 rounds and checked the implementation status of 12 cases.

For the six recommendations and proposals currently under planning after the recommendation phase?▲Transparent, fair, and productive operation of private cultural and artistic subsidies ▲Construction of an industrial policy platform ▲Realization of a sustainable Gwangju where all births are respected ▲Formation and operation of a (tentative) post-COVID-19 economic and social countermeasures committee ▲Prompt normalization of the Eodeungsan Tourism Complex development project ▲Creation of a citizen-friendly urban green (waterside) ecosystem centered on Gwangju Stream?the relevant city departments are to establish implementation plans and explain them to the Innovation Promotion Committee.

The Innovation Promotion Committee emphasized that while immediate results of innovation are important, plans should look ahead five to ten years. They urged a thorough analysis of feasibility and the preparation and promotion of effective short- and long-term measures so that citizens can tangibly experience innovation.

Chairman Joo Jeong-min stated, “The Innovation Promotion Committee will focus on presenting innovation directions so that Gwangju can actively respond to the government’s Korean New Deal policy, represented by digital and green new deals. Considering the COVID-19 situation, we will strive with committee members to fulfill the committee’s role as the hub of Gwangju innovation through open discussions with citizens, including civic groups.”

Mayor Lee Yong-seop said, “Innovation is a process of creative destruction, so it often faces resistance from vested interests. I ask you to actively work to ensure that the Innovation Promotion Committee’s recommendations are implemented through smooth communication with civil society, related organizations, and citizens.”

He added, “In the changing administrative environment represented by the government’s Korean New Deal, I request the Innovation Promotion Committee to continue to fulfill its core role with a sense of mission so that Gwangju becomes the future of Korea through innovation.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.