Isang-ik Jeonnam Hampyeong County Governor's First 100 Days in Office: A Gentle Breeze of Change

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Lee Sang-ik, former mayor of Hampyeong-gun, Jeollanam-do, will mark his 100th day in office on the 24th. A breeze of change is gently blowing through Hampyeong-gun.

Although he began his term through a by-election amid a somewhat chaotic situation including a year-long administrative gap and COVID-19, he is praised for quickly stabilizing the organization by sequentially realizing promised pledges such as the ‘abolition of the mayor’s official residence’ and ‘operation of an open mayor’s office.’

In particular, recently, by finalizing the complete revision of the enforcement regulations related to organizational restructuring, he established the Future Strategy Office, which oversees regional development, urban planning, and various public contest projects, and integrated the dispersed festival tasks into the Festival Expo Office (tentative name), thereby building an efficient organizational system to support the second half of the 7th local government term.

During the past 100 days, considering the infectious disease emergency situation, Mayor Lee minimized on-site activities as much as possible while focusing on understanding local issues and overall administration.

Going forward, he plans to steadily promote 65 pledged projects across six major sectors recently finalized to lead a new leap forward for Hampyeong.

▲ Emphasis on administrative ‘efficiency’... Busy securing budgets from the National Assembly, central government ministries, and Jeollanam-do

Mayor Lee started his official schedule immediately upon inauguration by receiving work reports from each department.

He meticulously re-examined the key policy projects currently underway or planned by the county based on urgency and economic feasibility.

In early last month, a new pledge implementation evaluation team, mainly composed of civilians, was formed, and a total of 65 pledged projects across six sectors including economy, agriculture, and tourism were finalized.

Major projects include ▲ creation of a residential complex for workers in the Bitgreen Industrial Complex ▲ attraction of related public institutions for the livestock cluster ▲ creation of the Hampyeongcheonji trail ▲ construction of the Hampyeong Bay coastal road ▲ 4·4·8 Hampyeong Experience Project ▲ development of a sports town ▲ expansion of support for local talent’s university tuition ▲ establishment of the Hampyeongcheonji Welfare Foundation (tentative name), among others.

Since securing funding is of utmost importance, as soon as specific annual implementation plans are prepared, he intends to continuously request maximum budget support from Jeollanam-do and central government ministries.

▲ Top priority is ‘reviving the economy’

Mayor Lee has emphasized that he will speedily promote local economic revitalization policies that have been at a standstill.

His core strategies include building industrial infrastructure, establishing residential bases, attracting promising companies, and creating quality jobs.

He plans to attract 195 promising companies (advanced technology, parts, materials) linked to the ‘Gwangju-type jobs’ to the Wolya Bitgreen Industrial Complex, scheduled for completion in 2023.

He will actively negotiate with Gwangju City, LH, Jeollanam-do, and others on the construction of a residential complex for workers, urban gas, and neighborhood facilities as part of the industrial complex’s hinterland development project, which is crucial for local attraction.

Additionally, he plans to sequentially establish urban lifestyle infrastructure such as health promotion health centers, indoor gymnasiums, and metropolitan bus routes, as well as a business-friendly industrial environment including expansion of investment attraction promotion funds, support for investment attraction subsidies, and expansion of logistics road networks according to related plans.

The backbone of the region, agriculture and livestock, will maintain the current focus on eco-friendly and organic production for the time being.

However, regarding distribution structures, he revealed that while activating online markets and nationwide direct transaction markets, the county is also actively considering operating an agricultural product processing center directly, indicating some intention of change.

In particular, since the livestock industry benefits from 73 types of regulatory special exemptions including taxes and building coverage ratios due to the previously selected ‘development promotion-type investment leading district,’ he plans to actively attract national-level livestock policy projects by linking the Myeongam Livestock Agricultural Industrial Complex, which will be completed by the end of this year, and the recently confirmed relocation of the Livestock Resources Development Department.

Starting in September, he will begin establishing a ‘Livestock Industry Development Master Plan’ and enacting the ‘Livestock Cluster Promotion Ordinance’ to attract large-scale meat processing companies, livestock start-up education institutions, and related research institutes to the region, and will actively propose their inclusion in the national comprehensive land plan to the government.

▲ Tourism industry as ‘future food source’

Mayor Lee presented a plan to develop Hampyeong into a ‘stay-type tourism hub’ in the cultural and tourism sectors.

This is based on the judgment that the tourism industry itself has high future growth potential and that tourism resources are poor compared to the eastern Jeollanam-do areas such as Yeosu and Suncheon.

He plans to focus on promoting the ‘4·4·8 Hampyeong Experience Project,’ which was pledged.

The core is to create tourism belts by region, such as the eastern forest zone and the western coastal zone, utilizing the geographical advantage of being adjacent to both mountains and sea.

First, inland areas will develop Daedongje Auto Camping Site and natural ecological forest trails near well-equipped natural ecological parks.

The Yongcheon Temple area, blessed with pristine natural environment, will develop tourism infrastructure such as parking lots, shopping areas, and lodging villages through a three-phase tourism development project and establish a healing center.

Well-known local festivals such as the Butterfly Festival will be specialized in preparation by newly establishing the Hampyeong Festival Tourism Foundation, and the Hampyeong Expo Park, where the festivals are held, will be linked with nearby wetland parks and Hwayang Neighborhood Park to pursue mid- to long-term designation as a national park.

The scenic western coastal zone plans to complete the 10.82 km Hampyeong Bay coastal road by 2026 with a total project cost of 32.5 billion KRW.

Near the coast, unique landscapes of Hampyeong Bay will be created by developing Dolmeori Sunset Garden, Haehaenghwa Healing Garden, and Anak Hydrangea Street.

The region’s representative resort, Dolmeori Coast, will be developed as a healing experience hub in the southwestern Jeollanam-do area by linking the seawater steam healing center completed this year, mudflat ecological experience, auto camping site (caravan), and Jupo Hanok Village.

▲ The ultimate value of county administration is ‘citizen happiness’

Mayor Lee also revealed plans for welfare and education sectors closely related to the quality of life of residents.

He clearly stated that even if visible results do not come immediately, he will consistently pursue related policies with a long-term perspective.

He first announced plans to establish the Hampyeongcheonji Welfare Foundation (tentative name) with experts from each field participating to build an integrated care system covering generations and genders including the elderly, women, and children.

He also promised support for socially vulnerable groups such as building a welfare center for the disabled, increasing veterans’ allowances, and expanding support for multicultural families.

The county’s talent development fund, a catalyst for nurturing local talent, will be expanded with a goal of 10 billion KRW by 2030, and financial support for university tuition will be significantly strengthened for students who have graduated from elementary, middle, and high schools in the region.

Mayor Lee said, “I have decided to return all of my mayoral salary of about 190 million KRW during the remaining term,” adding, “Although specific donation methods, recipients, and uses have not been decided, I am prioritizing donations to the Hampyeongcheonji Welfare Foundation (tentative name) or the county talent development fund.”

He continued, “Since I started later than others, I must have extraordinary passion and effort to get ahead in fierce competition among local governments. The next two years will determine the future development of Hampyeong, and with an extraordinary resolve, I will coordinate urgent current projects and mid- to long-term projects well to open a new era for Hampyeong.”

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