Kim Du-kwan: "Making Gwangju and Jeonnam Leading Cities in Advanced Industries and Green Energy"

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] Democratic Party presidential candidate Kim Du-kwan pledged on the 14th to "concentrate autonomous driving and future mobility industries in the Gwangju-Jeonnam Megacity, develop the Energy Valley into a global hub for new energy industries, and transform it into a leading city for advanced industries and green energy."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the same day, Kim held a press conference at the National Assembly Communication Office, stating, "During the industrialization period, authoritarian regimes pursued an unbalanced development strategy focused on the metropolitan area, large corporations, and exports, forcing sacrifices on Honam," and assessed, "Not only democracy but also our economy owes a great debt to Gwangju and Jeonnam."

He continued, "Now is a period of industrial transition, and although the Gwangju-Jeonnam economy started late, it is a golden opportunity to make it the most advanced leading economy," adding, "To enable Honam to leap forward as an industrial leader, a Kim Du-kwan government that will pursue strong balanced decentralization policies is necessary."

As part of his Gwangju-Jeonnam Megacity pledges, Kim proposed ▲ transforming the Gwangju military airport site into a green smart city ▲ developing the Energy Valley into a global hub for new energy industries ▲ attracting a national ultra-wide high magnetic field research institute to Gwangju ▲ intensively fostering the Honam region's advanced medical industry ▲ concentrating autonomous driving and future mobility industries ▲ and early development of the South Coast new growth industry belt.

Kim said, "The ultimate goal of today's pledge is to grow the per capita Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) of Honam residents to the level of the metropolitan area and the Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam region through the Honam Megacity development strategy."

He promised, "We will mobilize all government capabilities to transform Honam from the heart of democracy into the heart of the national economy."

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