Sang-ik Lee, Hampyeong County Governor, Declares Candidacy for "Uninterrupted Development, Strong Hampyeong"

Focusing on Balanced Regional Development and Even Growth Across Sectors to Build a Thriving Hampyeong

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Chunsu] Lee Sang-ik, the mayor of Hampyeong County, officially declared his candidacy for the Hampyeong County mayoral election scheduled for June 1 under the slogan "Uninterrupted Development, Therefore Lee Sang-ik," and has begun full-scale election campaigning.

On the 8th at 3 p.m., Mayor Lee held a press conference on the 2nd floor of the Small Business Education Center at Hampyeong Cheonji Traditional Market Customer Support Center, stating, "I am temporarily stepping down from my heavy responsibilities as mayor to run in this local election," and officially declared his candidacy by saying, "I, Lee Sang-ik, have taken on the challenge again to transform 'Newly Leaping Hampyeong' into 'Solid Hampyeong.'"

He first explained the background, saying, "The reason I chose to declare my candidacy here at the Small Business Education Center is because I deeply understand the hardships faced by small business owners who have suffered economic difficulties due to COVID-19, and I wanted to give them courage and hope."

Mayor Lee stated, "When I ran for mayor two years ago, I promised to revive the Hampyeong economy, and within two years, we have laid the foundation to change Hampyeong’s industrial ecosystem and revive the economy by achieving an early budget milestone of 500 billion won," adding, "We secured the attraction of Kumho Tire, a large company that Gwangju City was reluctant to lose, through persistent persuasion, and we expect an investment scale of about 1 trillion won along with the creation of approximately 2,200 jobs."

He continued, "Not only Kumho Tire but also automobile parts companies are flocking to the Bitgreen Industrial Complex area," emphasizing, "This will be a groundbreaking turning point for Hampyeong’s development by contributing to the inflow of young people, revitalization of the local economy, and job creation in a place where people used to leave due to lack of jobs and harsh living conditions."

He also said, "Upon taking office as mayor, I transformed the mayor’s official residence into a lifelong learning center, eradicated the practice of selling and buying positions, and implemented transparent personnel appointments that anyone can accept," and added, "To contribute to nurturing local talent, I plan to expand the scholarship fund by donating my entire mayoral salary to support Hampyeong-born students so they can focus on their studies without worrying about tuition."

Mayor Lee explained, "Based on the achievements of the 7th local government term, I will realize six core visions to create a more developed Hampyeong and achieve greater progress," and said, "I will announce detailed specific pledges to realize the six core visions once a week in sequence."

He also plans to promote balanced regional development and even growth across sectors by fully relocating the Kumho Tire Gwangju plant, completing the four-season tourism project, establishing the Bitgreen Industrial Complex area?where Kumho Tire is relocating?as a hub for automobile parts production, and expanding the Haebo Agricultural and Industrial Complex to attract excellent companies.

In closing, Mayor Lee said, "Most local cities in our country, including Hampyeong, are facing the risk of extinction, standing at a crossroads where even the population of 30,000 may collapse," and added, "All local members of the National Assembly, mayors, provincial councilors, and county councilors will join forces to lead uninterrupted leaps forward so that the sweat and efforts of the residents will not be in vain."

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