Governor Kim Kyung-su, "Dongnam-gwon Megacity is a Crossroad for Survival"

Actively Advocating for the 2nd Phase Integration of Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam and the Economic Feasibility of Gadeok New Airport in Front of Prime Minister Jeong

On the 4th, Governor Kim Kyung-soo attended the KNN Regional Grand Forum. (Photo by Gyeongnam Provincial Government)

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Saeyan] Kim Kyung-soo, Governor of Gyeongnam Province, attended the Korea Regional Forum on the 4th and said, "'Southeast Mega City' is not a matter of choice, but a necessary path to survive."

Under the theme "Beyond COVID-19, Towards the Southeast Mega City!" the forum was attended by Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun, Governor Kim, Acting Mayor Byun Seong-wan of Busan, Mayor Song Cheol-ho of Ulsan, members of the National Assembly from the Southeast region, business leaders, and academics, totaling about 60 people.

At the city and provincial governors' talk concert, Governor Kim raised the importance of national balanced development, stating, "The concentration problem in the metropolitan area is a matter of whether the entire Republic of Korea can survive if it continues as is."

Introducing that the metropolitan population exceeds half of the total population and that 92.5% of startups receiving investments over 10 billion won are located in the metropolitan area, Governor Kim explained, "In the past, during the 1960s and 70s, the gap in Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) between the metropolitan area and the Southeast region was 2 to 3 times, but now it has increased to nearly 8 times," adding, "The more developed a country is, the narrower the gap between the first and second cities."

Regarding the 'Phase 2 Integration Proposal for Busan, Gyeongnam, and Ulsan' suggested last month, he said, "There have been past cases of cooperation between metropolitan cities and provinces, but when the agreements were made and returned to each city and province, decisions and execution were difficult due to individual interests," and added, "Daegu and Gyeongbuk aim to elect an integrated head of local government in the 2022 local elections, and while requesting related laws, systems, and budget support from the government, joint discussions could create synergy."

On the Gadeok New Airport jointly promoted by Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam, Governor Kim pointed out, "To make Busan New Port a logistics hub of Northeast Asia, it is necessary to develop processing industries utilizing logistics and manufacturing industries and to link ports and aviation," and criticized, "With Gimhae Airport, where flights cannot operate from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. due to noise issues, logistics industry development is impossible."

Regarding the Korean New Deal, he concluded his remarks by saying, "The most important thing in reshaping Korea is to resolve the imbalance between the metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas," and "Therefore, building the Southeast Mega City holds very significant meaning."

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Chung spent all his schedule in Gyeongnam on the day, attending the 'Korea Institute of Materials Science Foundation Ceremony' together with Governor Kim and the mayors and governors of Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam.

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