Gu In-mo, Geochang County Governor, Achieves 71% Pledge Fulfillment Rate in Q1 2021, Highest in Province

40 of 56 Pledged Projects Completed, 16 Proceeding Normally

Gu In-mo, Geochang County Governor
[Image source=Geochang County]

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Choi Soon-kyung] Gu In-mo, the mayor of Geochang County, announced on the 4th that as of the first quarter of 2021, he completed 40 out of 56 pledged projects, achieving a 71% completion rate, the highest among local government heads in the province.

The key pledged projects of Mayor Gu In-mo include ▲ resolving conflicts over the Geochang Legal Town ▲ normalizing the Geochang International Theater Festival ▲ creating five major regional tourist zones in the east, west, south, and north ▲ opening a southern bypass road linked with Handeul Bridge ▲ and fostering the globalization of the elevator industry.

In particular, the conflict over Geochang Legal Town had deeply divided the residents of Geochang County due to intense opposition and support regarding the construction of the Geochang Detention Center even before Mayor Gu took office.

After taking office, Mayor Gu selected resolving the Geochang Legal Town conflict as a core pledge and, to solve the issue, formed a five-party consultative body including the Ministry of Justice, Geochang County, the council, and representatives of residents both for and against the project, mediated by Gyeongnam Province. Through a resident referendum, the six-year conflict was resolved.

Currently, the Geochang Branch Court and Geochang Prosecutor’s Office within the Legal Town have confirmed their relocation, and the Geochang Detention Center project is progressing smoothly with a construction progress rate of 28%, aiming for completion in October next year.

Also, the Geochang International Theater Festival, which had been disrupted since 2016 due to conflicts with the festival’s executive committee over budget transparency and trademark use issues, completed the transfer registration of the festival’s trademark to Geochang County last February, enabling the festival to be held from July 30 this year.

The project to create five major regional tourist zones in the east, west, south, and north to revitalize Geochang tourism has brought a revolutionary change to the local tourism industry with the opening of Geochang Anti-Aging Healing Land and Changpowon Garden.

The Y-shaped suspension bridge within Geochang Anti-Aging Healing Land, which held its opening ceremony last October, attracted 150,000 visitors in just over a month.

Geochang Changpowon Garden, officially opened on May 15, was already attracting many tourists before its opening to see the May blooming iris flowers, and after opening, the parking lot is filled with family visitors.

The county expects that with the completion of the second Changpowon Garden, spanning 140,000 pyeong in 2024, Geochang will transform into a true tourism hub through designation as a national garden and hosting the World Horticultural Exposition.

Also, the southern bypass road project began with the opening of Handol Bridge on May 13, which is expected to alleviate traffic congestion in the city and promote balanced development between the Gangnam and Gangbuk areas.

The globalization fostering project for the elevator industry has seen significant progress since Mayor Gu’s inauguration, including the designation of Geochang Elevator Valley Industrial Special Zone, attracting the Elevator Safety Technology Institute, selection of the 24.1 billion KRW ‘World Elevator Hub City Development Project’ in a public contest, and the completion ceremony of the elevator up-and-down test tower and industrial complex building held on May 24.

Moreover, in April, the 20 billion KRW ‘Smart Elevator Demonstration Platform Construction Project’ was selected in a public contest, establishing Geochang as a hub city for the global elevator industry beyond Korea.

In addition, pledged projects that enhanced the cultural pride of Geochang residents, such as ▲ the designation of Geoyeol Fortress as a national historic site ▲ the nation’s first implementation of a health primary care system for cancer patients ▲ and the expansion of agricultural machinery rental projects by region to reduce farming expenses for farmers, have been completed one after another to improve residents’ cultural life and quality of life.

Mayor Gu stated, “We plan to maximize the results of completed projects through continuous management, and for the 16 ongoing pledged projects, including the creation of a public parking lot around Geochang Terminal and the rotary urban landscape project, we will focus administrative power together with over 700 public officials with a ‘halfway but not yet finished’ attitude to ensure these projects are completed within my term.”

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