Kim Dong-yeon: "I will create a Gyeonggi-do with more, fairer, and better 'opportunity-filled' chances"

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Kim Dong-yeon, Governor of Gyeonggi Province, promised the residents that he would create a "City of Opportunities" in Gyeonggi Province where "more opportunities, more equitable opportunities, and better opportunities are given."

At the event "Handshake Talk - Talking about the City of Opportunities, Gyeonggi," held at the Gyeonggi Provincial Government auditorium at 10:30 a.m. on the 15th, Governor Kim said, "After leaving public office 3 years and 8 months ago, I traveled across the country for more than two and a half years and met many people," adding, "At that time, I thought that if more and more equitable opportunities were given to us, the lives of our people would change."

He continued, "I grew up in a very difficult environment. I attended school in an unauthorized shantytown, but fortunately, I benefited from the ladder of social mobility that allowed me to move to a better position through more opportunities," expressing regret that "it seems that such opportunities are not given much to our young people and residents now."

Therefore, he emphasized, "It is necessary to provide more opportunities to everyone, which means dynamism in all aspects of the economy, education, and society," and added, "We must create a ladder of social mobility by achieving high-quality economic growth and eliminating educational disparities."

He also stressed, "While some people are given too many opportunities, others are not given any," and said, "Creating a community of inclusion, coexistence, and living together is about creating more equitable opportunities."

Furthermore, he added, "There are people in vulnerable groups or with disabilities who cannot access even the minimum opportunities despite efforts to create them," and said, "Building a foundation where they can live together is what I think of as better opportunities."

Governor Kim went on to say, "(The three things mentioned earlier) are connected to everything in provincial administration. For example, creating a semiconductor cluster or turning Northern Gyeonggi into Northern Gyeonggi Province to make it the center of South Korea's growth are efforts to create more opportunities," and explained, "Various methods for vulnerable groups, social mobility, or eliminating educational disparities will be individual policies that create more equitable and better opportunities."

In a subsequent conversation with residents, when asked by a company representative about measures to revitalize the economy centered on startups due to difficulties in recruiting development personnel, he replied, "Making Gyeonggi Province a startup heaven (Cheongukdo) was an election pledge," and added, "We are comprehensively reviewing measures such as financial support, initial public offerings (IPO), mergers and acquisitions (M&A) with large companies, and opportunities for recovery after failure."

Regarding measures for the 2030 generation struggling due to rising interest rates, he said, "There is a risk of stagflation as inflation rises and economic recession approaches. I believe there will be many difficulties for not only young people but also small business owners and venture companies who received loans at low interest rates," and promised, "We are considering various ways, such as refinancing loans for those suffering from high interest rates. We will prepare to cope well with the economic downturn."

In particular, on bipartisan cooperation, Governor Kim said, "You cannot be satisfied at the first try, and you cannot find scorched rice water in a well. The cooperation we think of at this stage is a very low-level cooperation, starting with policy cooperation," and defined, "For example, accepting and accommodating various opinions during the provincial council's review of supplementary budgets is policy cooperation."

He added, "Starting from low-level policy cooperation and building mutual trust and understanding can lead to higher-level cooperation," and said, "First, I want to cross the threshold."

In his closing remarks that day, Governor Kim expressed his intention to continue dialogue with residents by saying, "Even if it is small in scale, I will create many such opportunities and have frequent conversations with you."

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