Naju City Launches Public-Private Joint Committee for Leading Policy Projects of the 7th Elected Administration

[Naju=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yukbong] Naju City (Mayor Kang In-gyu) has opened the first chapter in promoting leading policy tasks to resolve long-standing local issues and secure new growth engines.

On the 20th at 11 a.m., Naju City held the launch ceremony of the ‘Public-Private Joint Committee’ in the city hall’s main conference room, expressing strong determination to promote the leading policy tasks announced in this year’s New Year’s address.

Mayor Kang stated, “We will actively link the leading policy tasks with the next presidential election, which will establish the national direction and policy framework, and maximize administrative and political power based on community capabilities to achieve concrete results.”

The leading policy tasks are large-scale policy projects established to address long-neglected local issues spanning history and culture, ecological environment, industry, and economy.

These policy tasks consist of 15 mid- to long-term projects across five major policy areas: ▲ Establishing a comprehensive plan for the ecological restoration of the Yeongsan River ▲ Upgrading Geumseongsan to a provincial park and relocating military units (complete removal of buried landmines, cancellation of Sanpo emergency runway designation), Slow City ▲ Building a metropolitan railway network between Gwangju and Naju (linked with Jeonnam Provincial Office and Mokpo) ▲ Relocation of LG Chem’s Naju plant within the jurisdiction and creation of an administrative complex town ▲ Restoration of Mahan Temple and designation as a historical and cultural city.

In particular, the comprehensive plan for Yeongsan River restoration, the metropolitan railway network construction between Gwangju, Naju, Jeonnam Provincial Office, and Mokpo, and the restoration of Mahan Temple and designation as a historical and cultural city are planned to be adopted as national agenda items for the next presidential election.

The Public-Private Joint Committee, which officially began activities with the launch ceremony, is composed of 51 distinguished figures from academia, research institutes, public institutions, and civil society.

The public-private joint chairpersons include Mayor Kang as the standing chairperson, along with Professor Emeritus Jang Hee-cheon of Gwangju University, Professor Emeritus Jeon Seung-soo of Chonnam National University, Co-chair Choi Song-chun of Mokpo Environmental Movement Federation, Standing Chair Chae Jeong-gi of Mudeungsan Protection Organizations Council, Full-time Specialist Seo Jae-cheol of Green Union, Director Seo Wang-jin of Seoul Institute, Former Vice Governor Yang Bok-wan of Gyeonggi Province, Former Head of Management Division Jeong Jae-soo of Gwangju Urban Railway Corporation, Director Lim Young-jin of Mahan Research Institute, and Former Director Park Jung-hwan of National Naju Museum, each appointed as co-chairpersons.

The policy advisory group, formed to seek policy advice and alternatives related to the promotion of leading policies, consists of 32 experts nationwide, including the 10 joint chairpersons, former Chairman Jeong Seong-heon of the Democracy Movement Commemoration Association, former Blue House Personnel Chief Jeong Chan-yong, Professor Choi Jong-taek of Korea University’s Department of Cultural Heritage Convergence, former Vice Minister Min Seung-gyu of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, and experts from four public institutions in Naju Innovation City in the fields of energy, agricultural life, culture and arts, and information and communication.

The policy advisory group is intended to strengthen policy functions related to Naju City’s leading policies and city administration, and is evaluated as a so-called ‘dream team’ composed of the nation’s top experts to promote mid- to long-term policies and adoption as national agenda items for the next presidential election.

Park Gyu-gyeon, Policy Chairman of the Asia Humanities Foundation, said, “Complex problems fixed by political, economic, and security logic require fundamental diagnosis and empirical alternatives through policy planning at the local community level.”

He added, “Policy tasks that can guarantee new growth engines are large-scale issues that must be addressed through national leadership, including public-private cooperation and budget investment. With the launch of the Public-Private Joint Committee, policies related to metropolitan railways, Yeongsan River, and Mahan Temple will be jointly promoted with relevant local governments such as Jeonnam Province and Gwangju Metropolitan City to ensure adoption as national agenda items in the next presidential election.”

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