Gyeongsang National University and Jinju City Sign Business Agreement for Mutual Development

Expectations for Cooperation on Utilization Plans of Lee Seongja Art Museum, Jinyang Lake Shore, and Former Prosecutor's Office Site

Business Agreement for Mutual Growth and Development

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Choi Soon-kyung] Gyeongsang National University and Jinju City have shown remarkable results just over five months after signing a business agreement for mutual development at the end of July.

Gyeongsang National University and Jinju City signed the 'Mutual Development Business Agreement' at Jinju City Hall on July 27. At that time, Jinju Mayor Cho Gyu-il said, "Gyeongsang National University is a community of shared destiny that must navigate the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the post-COVID-19 era together, and it is the future of Jinju City." President Kwon Soon-ki responded, "We intend to overcome the current crisis through active cooperation with local governments."

At the business agreement ceremony, the two institutions formed a mutual development council chaired jointly by Jeong Woo-geon, Vice President for Research at Gyeongsang National University, and Shin Jong-woo, Deputy Mayor of Jinju City, with five directors and managers from both institutions participating. The mutual development council held meetings alternately at Gyeongsang National University on September 1, Jinju City on October 14, and again at Gyeongsang National University on December 17. The fourth meeting is scheduled to be held at the Wolasan Forest Jinju National Garden project site.

At the second meeting of the mutual development council, three priority cooperative projects were selected, and a memorandum of understanding (MOU) was agreed upon between the two institutions to promote these projects. Additionally, a permanent consultative body was established between Jinju City's Economic and Trade Bureau and Gyeongsang National University's Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation. The permanent consultative body discussed proposed projects, including the 'Startup Ground Creation,' on November 5.

Before the third meeting on December 17, Jinju Mayor Cho Gyu-il and President Kwon Soon-ki attended and signed an MOU for cooperation on the 'Citizen Happiness Open Campus Creation Project.' The Citizen Happiness Open Campus Creation Project is broadly summarized into three parts: ▲ creating an ecological pond park at Gajwa Stream and a citizen-accessible book caf? to provide citizens with rest and cultural spaces ▲ maintaining hiking trails on Gajwa Mountain and creating a campus perimeter walking path to contribute to citizens' health ▲ opening the plaza in front of the 100th Anniversary Memorial Hall and improving landscaping facilities and the intercity bus stop.

To ensure the smooth progress of projects for mutual development between Gyeongsang National University and Jinju City, the Jinju City Council has also actively supported these efforts. On December 2, the Jinju City Council passed the 'Ordinance on Mutual Development Cooperation between Jinju City and Universities' and approved one supplementary budget on December 2 and two main budgets for 2022 on December 13 related to mutual cooperation projects. The total project budget amounts to approximately 2 billion KRW.

Regarding the utilization plan for the remaining site of the former Prosecutor's Office and Court proposed by Gyeongsang National University, the university plans to proactively establish an integrated campus foundation by utilizing the remaining site in connection with the university's mid- to long-term development plan and campus specialization and restructuring following the launch of the integrated university. In response, Jinju City has committed to resolving mutual occupancy of national and public property and seeking joint development plans through coordination of opinions among relevant departments. The proposals from both institutions will be discussed in detail at future mutual development council meetings.

Thus, not only has Jinju City and Gyeongsang National University shown noticeable achievements just over five months after signing the mutual development agreement, but the agenda to be specifically addressed next year is expected to contribute to the happy lives of Jinju citizens as well as both institutions, generating great anticipation.

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