Gwangju-Jeonnam Win-Win Development Committee Confirms 33 Joint Cooperation Projects

Mayor Lee Yong-seop: "Engraving 'Dongsimmanri (同心萬里)' in Our Hearts to Open a Prosperous Future"

Governor Kim Young-rok: "Expecting a Greater Gwangju-Jeonnam Leap as Partners Leading National Development"

On the afternoon of the 1st, Lee Yong-seop, Mayor of Gwangju Metropolitan City, attended the 2020 Gwangju-Jeonnam Win-Win Development Committee held at the Seojaepil Room of Jeonnam Provincial Office, and took a commemorative photo holding the Gwangju-Jeonnam Win-Win Development Committee statement with Kim Young-rok, Governor of Jeonnam Province, and heads of departments from both cities and provinces. Photo by Gwangju Metropolitan City.

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] On the afternoon of the 1st, Gwangju Metropolitan City and Jeonnam Province held the ‘2020 Gwangju-Jeonnam Win-Win Development Committee’ at the Seo Jae-pil Room of Jeonnam Provincial Office, attended by Gwangju Mayor Lee Yong-seop, Jeonnam Governor Kim Young-rok, and related city and provincial officials, confirming 33 joint cooperation tasks.

The Win-Win Development Committee was conducted in strict compliance with COVID-19 quarantine rules.

Marking its 6th year since its launch, the ‘Gwangju-Jeonnam Win-Win Development Committee’ has so far discovered 47 cooperation tasks, of which 38 have been reflected in government projects, achieving significant results. The remaining 9 tasks, including metropolitan transportation networks, are being continuously pursued from a mid- to long-term perspective to be incorporated into national plans.

In particular, under the 7th local government administration, meaningful achievements have been made through cooperation in various fields such as education, industry, culture, and SOC, including ▲ establishment of Korea Energy Engineering University ▲ creation of Gwangju-Jeonnam Energy Valley ▲ construction of the 2nd Namdo Dormitory ▲ establishment of the Korean Studies Honam Promotion Institute.

This year, the Win-Win Development Committee reviewed the progress of 25 existing tasks and discussed 8 newly discovered cooperation tasks in areas such as economy, culture, environment, and healthcare to effectively respond to environmental changes such as COVID-19 and government policies.

The newly discovered tasks include ▲ joint discovery of ultra-regional cooperation projects such as regional balanced New Deal ▲ establishment of the Gwangju-Jeonnam regional innovation platform ▲ promotion of Mahan cultural zone development ▲ holding a joint online job fair for Gwangju and Jeonnam ▲ joint utilization of professional personnel for village communities ▲ promotion of healing agriculture to improve the health of city and provincial residents ▲ ecological environment survey of tributaries and streams of the Yeongsan River ▲ establishment of a joint infectious disease response bed-sharing system for Gwangju and Jeonnam.

At the meeting, the two local governments also agreed on and announced the ‘Gwangju-Jeonnam Win-Win Development Committee Statement,’ pledging joint efforts on a total of 10 items including the new tasks.

Jeonnam Governor Kim Young-rok said, “Based on the long-standing win-win cooperation, let us discover ultra-regional cooperation projects where both local governments can mutually win, lay the foundation for an ultra-regional economic zone, and unite our efforts to create a new turning point for the development of Gwangju and Jeonnam,” proposing the formation of a TF for discovering ultra-regional cooperation projects.

He added, “We will actively respond to the Well-Aging Human Healthcare Valley, which was selected in the first round of the Balanced Development Committee’s public contest, and jointly promote ultra-regional cooperation tasks such as the Agri-Tech Convergence Science Park, Cell Agriculture Food Cluster, Southwest Land Rail Cruise, and tourism branding projects, hoping to leap forward as a strong partner leading national development into a ‘Greater Gwangju-Jeonnam.’”

Gwangju Mayor Lee Yong-seop said, “Recognizing that Gwangju and Jeonnam are inseparable co-fate bodies, if we look forward with the spirit of the times and the future, there lies coexistence and the path of mutual growth,” adding, “As the saying goes, ‘Two people with one heart can cut through metal’ (二人同心 其利斷金), if Gwangju and Jeonnam unite their hearts, there is nothing we cannot achieve,” emphasizing, “Next year, let us truly engrave ‘One heart, ten thousand miles’ (同心萬里) in our hearts and open a prosperous future together by uniting the city and province.”

The two local governments plan to continuously communicate, cooperate, and actively promote the cooperation tasks discussed to ensure that city and provincial residents can tangibly feel the results.

Meanwhile, the total of 33 joint cooperation tasks submitted this time were finalized after in-depth discussions, including coordination and supplementation of opinions between the city and province, through a working-level committee meeting held on October 27, attended by city and provincial department heads and external advisory members.

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