Gyeonggi-do and Jeonnam Join Forces for Mutual Development... Cooperation on Japan's Contaminated Water Response and More

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Gyeonggi Province and Jeollanam-do have decided to join forces for mutual policy sharing and joint research to achieve a new leap forward.

On the 2nd, Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung, Jeollanam-do Governor Kim Young-rok, Gyeonggi Research Institute President Lee Han-joo, and Gwangju-Jeonnam Research Institute President Park Jae-young pledged to promote mutual development to prepare a new future for the two regions at the Jeonnam Provincial Office.

According to the joint agreement made that day, the two regions will cooperate on policies such as expanding the scope of seafood origin inspections for joint response to Japanese radioactive wastewater and work together to create a clean marine environment for future generations.

In the field of eco-friendly agriculture, they agreed to cooperate to expand the supply of eco-friendly agricultural products from Jeonnam to school meals in Gyeonggi Province. Regarding fiscal decentralization, they will jointly strive to achieve practical fiscal decentralization through increasing local grant tax rates and expanding autonomous revenue sources.

Additionally, they will strengthen cooperation to create a digital industrial ecosystem by supporting the successful hosting of events such as the '2021 NEXPO in Suncheon' held in Jeonnam in October and the '2021 Digital New Deal AI Expo' held in Gyeonggi Province in November.

The Gyeonggi Research Institute and the Gwangju-Jeonnam Research Institute will conduct joint research on the effectiveness analysis and development plans for children's traffic safety measures, and on expanding the supply of eco-friendly agricultural products for school meals (focusing on Jeollanam-do and Gyeonggi Province).

Governor Lee Jae-myung said, "The issue of balanced development in South Korea is a serious challenge. While local areas face population decline, reduced industrial and economic investment, and the risk of extinction, the metropolitan area is overly concentrated, leading to concerns beyond overcrowding to explosion. I believe the serious real estate speculation problem is also related to this concentration in the metropolitan area. Balanced regional development is necessary for sustainable growth and national progress."

He continued, "Not only fiscal authority but also policy considerations for local governments in industrial placement and infrastructure construction are needed. From a long-term perspective, special priority and preferential investment for local areas are essential. As a member of local governments, strengthening autonomy, transferring authority, and pursuing independent development plans based on the characteristics of each metropolitan local government are policy tasks that must be implemented. We will strive to ensure that local areas are not marginalized and can grow and develop together."

He also expressed expectations, saying, "Jeollanam-do is a traditional granary, but I think it will grow into a mecca of renewable energy. With abundant resources such as wind and solar power, if the government only builds the infrastructure, new growth, development, and employment opportunities beyond the existing industrial system will emerge."

Jeonnam Governor Kim Young-rok said, "Since we share the intention regarding Gyeonggi Province's proposal on Japanese nuclear power plant radioactive wastewater and marine waste reduction measures, we will strengthen mutual cooperation. I believe that national balanced development is the most critical task for growth and fairness. Jeonnam Province will join efforts for local autonomy and fiscal decentralization."

He went on to introduce cases such as Gyeonggi Province's purchase of Jeonnam's eco-friendly certified agricultural products and the provision of scholarship funds to Jeonnam students from profits of Gyeonggi's solar power projects, forecasting that "the win-win relationship between Gyeonggi Province and Jeollanam-do will be further strengthened."

Meanwhile, this is the third time the two regions have cooperated for mutual development. The two regions have continuously built a cooperative system for mutual development through the 5th and 6th local governments up to the 7th local government. While the previous two exchanges involved the Jeonnam Governor visiting Gyeonggi Province, this exchange was made more meaningful by the Gyeonggi Governor visiting Jeonnam.

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