Gwangju City Holds '2nd Policy Forum on Public Institution Relocation Response'

Mayor Lee Yong-seop: "Please Present Wise Alternatives in the Spirit of Mutual Growth and Reciprocity Between Cities and Provinces"

On the afternoon of the 10th, Lee Yong-seop, Mayor of Gwangju Metropolitan City, attended the "Policy Discussion on Gwangju's Response Strategy for the Second Phase of Public Institution Relocation" held in the city hall's medium conference room, and took a commemorative photo with National Assembly members Jo O-seop and Yoon Young-duk, Gwangju City Council member Shin Soo-jung, topic presenters, and discussants. Photo by Gwangju Metropolitan City

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] On the afternoon of the 10th, Gwangju Metropolitan City held the "Policy Discussion on Gwangju's Response Strategy in Preparation for the 2nd Phase of Public Institution Relocation to Local Areas" at the Gwangju City Hall Medium Conference Room.

The discussion was hosted by Gwangju City and organized by the office of National Assembly member Jo O-seop, the Gwangju-Jeonnam Innovation City Forum, and the Gwangju-Jeonnam branch of the Korea Urban Planning Association. Considering the COVID-19 situation, only a minimal number of attendees including Mayor Lee Yong-seop, National Assembly members Jo O-seop and Yoon Young-duk, presenters, discussants, and related experts were present on-site, with the event broadcast live online.

The discussion analyzed the anticipated government direction regarding the 2nd phase of public institution relocation from the Seoul metropolitan area and deliberated on Gwangju City's response strategies accordingly.

As Gwangju's response strategies for the 2nd phase of public institution relocation, various measures were proposed including linkage with urban regeneration New Deal projects, establishment of an innovation industry belt, designation of multiple innovation districts in Gwangju, and offering incentives.

Professor Jeong Seong-hoon of Daegu Catholic University presented on the topic "Practical Strategies for Additional Relocation of Innovation City Public Institutions," Dr. Ryu Young-guk, former head of the Gwangju-Jeonnam branch of the Korea Urban Design Association, spoke on "Selection and Attraction Strategies for Public Institutions," and Professor Jo Jin-sang of Dongshin University gave a presentation titled "Spatial Location Strategies for Innovation Cities."

In the designated discussion chaired by Professor Lee Min-won of Gwangju University, discussants included Professor Naju Mong of Chonnam National University, Professor Jeon Kwang-seop of Honam University, Chairman Jang Jae-young of the Gwangju-Jeonnam Labor Council, and Professor Lee Jeong-rok of Chonnam National University.

Professor Lee Min-won suggested, "At the government level, principles for selecting additional relocation target public institutions, principles for regional allocation of public institutions, and government policies regarding the nature of additional relocation sites must be established first," adding, "At the regional level, considerations such as offering incentives are necessary."

Professor Jeong Seong-hoon emphasized, "It is necessary to establish development funds using local tax revenues and support incentive measures for public institutions," proposing measures such as land use changes to revitalize existing innovation city clusters. For the 2nd relocation sites, he suggested linking with urban regeneration New Deal projects as part of existing downtown revitalization efforts.

Dr. Ryu Young-guk proposed spatially inheriting the spirit of the Gwangju-Jeonnam joint innovation city while strengthening linkage strategies with Gwangju's urban regeneration New Deal projects. He also suggested constructing a metropolitan railway between Gwangju and the innovation city and establishing an innovation industry belt connecting Naju, Daechon, Songam, and Baegun.

Professor Jo Jin-sang of Dongshin University stated, "It is desirable for Gwangju and Jeonnam to promptly form a public-private cooperation council for attracting public institutions to discuss attraction sectors, target institutions, incentive offerings, Gwangju-Jeonnam win-win cooperation plans, and concretization of spatial location strategies."

Dr. Kim Jong-il of the Gwangju-Jeonnam Research Institute emphasized the need for a joint strategy between Gwangju and Jeonnam in line with administrative integration in Daegu-Gyeongbuk and the administrative capital in the Chungcheong region. He highlighted the necessity of a co-growth strategy that expands Gwangju's advanced core functions as a hub city in the Honam region and maintains sustainability in Jeonnam's rural areas, proposing the establishment of governance such as the provisional "Gwangju-Jeonnam Public Institution Attraction Council."

Mayor Lee Yong-seop stated, "In 2007, Gwangju and Jeonnam were the only regions nationwide to agree on jointly attracting an innovation city in Naju through Gwangju's generous concession, successfully attracting Korea Electric Power Corporation with global competitiveness, followed by 15 prominent public institutions. However, it is very regrettable that the joint innovation city development fund agreed upon by Gwangju City, Jeonnam Province, and Naju at that time has not been maintained until now."

He continued, "Nevertheless, the 2nd phase of public institution relocation must also be approached with the same urgency and spirit of coexistence as the 1st phase, and Gwangju and Jeonnam must respond jointly," adding, "In the era of the 4th Industrial Revolution, it is time to actively consider administrative integration of Gwangju and Jeonnam to secure prosperity and future competitiveness through close partnership cooperation."

Furthermore, he said, "Currently, information and communication technology is advancing and cities are becoming metropolitanized. We must also actively consider the current situation where Daegu and Gyeongbuk are actively promoting the 'Daegu-Gyeongbuk Special Autonomous Province,'" and added, "I hope experts will gather their strength and wisdom to prepare effective response strategies for our city regarding the 2nd phase of public institution relocation in the spirit of Gwangju-Jeonnam coexistence."

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