Jeonnam Governor Candidate Kim Young-rok "Establishing a Super Metropolitan Economic Community of Jeonnam and Gwangju"

Seeking Win-Win Development through Cooperation in Attracting Advanced Industries and Construction of Metropolitan Transportation Networks

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Kim Young-rok, the preliminary candidate for governor of Jeollanam-do from the Democratic Party of Korea, has promised to establish a super-regional economic community between Jeonnam and Gwangju.

On the 2nd, Candidate Kim stated in a press release, “To seek mutual development between Jeonnam and Gwangju, we will build a ‘Jeonnam-Gwangju Super-Regional Economic Community’ by cooperating to attract advanced industries and constructing a wide-area transportation network.”

He added, “A super-regional growth axis along the southern coast and southern region, centered on Jeonnam and Gwangju, including Jeonbuk and Jeju, and further extending to Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam, is necessary to rival the economic capital of the Seoul metropolitan area and the administrative capital of the Chungcheong region. Through the establishment of the Jeonnam-Gwangju Super-Regional Economic Community, we will explore economic cooperation plans that encompass Jeonnam and Gwangju, which share one root.”

To build the Jeonnam-Gwangju Super-Regional Economic Community, Candidate Kim plans to jointly attract advanced industries such as a specialized advanced semiconductor complex and an advanced medical complex to create growth engines for the development of the Honam region.

The advanced semiconductor complex, centered on AI and 5G, will be developed as a next-generation AI-dedicated semiconductor specialized complex covering 10 million square meters (3 million pyeong) in Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju, and Jangseong-gun, Jeonnam, focusing on automobiles, power semiconductors, and more.

They will provide sufficient land to domestic semiconductor conglomerates and partner companies and cooperate in semiconductor workforce training to hire local talent.

Efforts will also be actively made to establish the Jeonnam-Gwangju advanced medical complex.

Support for R&D will be provided so that the Hwasun Vaccine Industrial Complex, the only vaccine industry special zone in Korea, can establish itself as a global vaccine hub, and a foundation will be laid to expand it into a bio-cluster in advanced medical fields such as neuroscience, gene editing, and precision medicine.

Additionally, joint cooperation will be pursued to attract a Southwest Nuclear Medical Center, similar to the Southeast Nuclear Medical Center, to the Jeonnam-Gwangju advanced medical complex.

For the mutual development of Jeonnam and Gwangju, the expansion of SOC infrastructure and transportation networks between Jeonnam and Gwangju will be closely promoted.

To this end, wide-area railroads between Gwangju and Naju, and Gwangju and Hwasun will be constructed, along with a wide-area circular road network connecting Naju, Hwasun, Damyang, and Jangseong centered on Gwangju, exploring ways for Jeonnam and Gwangju to organically integrate as one root.

Furthermore, through the establishment of the Namdo Tourism Belt connecting Jeonju, Gwangju, Naju, Mokpo, Suncheon, and Yeosu, mutual growth and cooperation in politics, economy, culture, and tourism will be pursued.

Candidate Kim said, “Balanced national development can achieve greater results not only through innovation of existing industries but also through development via future advanced industries. In particular, the establishment of the AI semiconductor specialized complex and the advanced medical complex is included in President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol’s presidential pledges and the balanced development national agenda of the transition committee, and will become a growth engine for the future development of the Honam region.”

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