Jeonnam Governor Kim Young-rok: "Military Airport Relocation Must Guarantee Residents' Right to Choose"

[Muan=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Kim Young-rok, Governor of Jeonnam Province, emphasized that "the priority should be to guarantee the choice of the residents concerned" regarding the relocation of the military airport.

According to Jeonnam Province on the 1st, Governor Kim said at the April regular briefing, "Taking the launch of the pan-government consultative body led by the Prime Minister's Office as an opportunity, we will propose to related ministries such as the Ministry of National Defense, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Ministry of Economy and Finance, and Ministry of the Interior and Safety to prepare innovative, comprehensive, and inclusive support measures," adding, "The goal is to prepare groundbreaking support measures that residents can accept and establish a foundation for mutual competition through public contests."

He also urged, "There were many achievements in the first quarter of provincial administration, but do not be satisfied with them. Remember the proverb 'Row the boat when the tide comes in' and work on follow-up measures with the mindset that this is just the beginning."

He continued, "The Korea Energy Engineering University Act was passed thanks to the passionate support of the residents and the efforts of public officials," explaining, "Originally, KEPCO University started as a private university, but with investments from the energy public enterprise KEPCO, Jeonnam Province, and Naju City, and the revision of the Enforcement Decree of the Electricity Business Act allowing government contributions, an institutional framework was established to grow it into a public special university and a world-class engineering university."

He added, "Now, young people from Jeonnam and Gwangju, as well as elementary, middle, and high school students, can nurture their dreams of becoming engineers, scientists, and venture entrepreneurs," and urged, "Please do your best to develop it into a global energy cluster where universities, research institutes, companies, and advanced scientific technology institutions such as the ultra-high-power laser center are concentrated, in line with global trends."

Governor Kim said, "Holding the first event of the President's regional balanced New Deal tour in Jeonnam, announcing the plan to create the world's largest offshore wind farm, and proclaiming the Jeonnam-type win-win job vision, which no other city or province has attempted, is a meaningful step to lead the Korean New Deal from Jeonnam," adding, "Following the successful final integrated combustion test of the first stage of the Korean-type space launch vehicle Nuriho at the Naro Space Center in Goheung during the President's event, let's accelerate the creation of the Goheung space launch vehicle cluster and open the era of private space companies in Jeonnam."

He also mentioned the cloud data center construction project.

Governor Kim said, "Although we started later than other regions, we signed a 300 billion KRW investment agreement with NHN Enterprise and I believe we will be the first to complete the data center," encouraging, "Global data companies like Google are planning to use renewable energy for power. Jeonnam has declared the 2050 carbon neutrality vision and is promoting the world's largest offshore wind power, so with optimal location conditions, let's lead this industry in Jeonnam by implementing policies aligned with data company trends."

In particular, he said, "As the saying goes, 'Small failures accumulate to overcome big walls,' we overcame many difficulties and passed the special law while promoting KEPCO University," and noted, "In the first quarter of this year, there were many achievements such as the opening of the Shinan Jido, Imja, Chupo, and Amtae land-bridge islands, winning three brand awards at Namdo Market, selection for the 'Advanced Precision Medical Industrialization Platform Construction' contest, and attracting investment from Baxel Bio, which researches anticancer immune cell therapy."

He also urged, "Please continue to do your best to resolve remaining issues such as attracting the Korea Island Promotion Agency, hosting COP28 in the southern coast and southern central region, constructing Heuksan Airport, enacting the Yeosu-Suncheon Incident Special Act, reflecting the Gwangju-Naju-Hwasun metropolitan railway in the national plan, constructing the Yeosu-Namhae undersea tunnel, promoting the 2022-2023 Jeonnam Visit Year, and achieving the goal of 500,000 foreign tourists."

Meanwhile, he also spoke about COVID-19.

Currently, the number of COVID-19 tests conducted in Jeonnam is 830,000, accounting for 11% of the national total. Compared to the population share of 3.6%, this is analyzed as three times the achievement.

Governor Kim said, "Recently, the occurrence of COVID-19 confirmed cases in the province has been calming down, and I thank the residents who followed quarantine guidelines well, as well as the medical staff and public officials who thoroughly supported quarantine efforts."

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