Pohang City Opens a Forum for Communication to Leap Forward as a Greater Pohang in the 8th Term of Civilian Government!

Hosting a Development Strategy Forum for the 8th Local Government Inviting Former Chief Secretary Koo Yoon-cheol

Pohang City held a forum by inviting former Chief Secretary to the Office for Government Policy Coordination, Koo Yoon-chul, to establish development strategies for the 8th local government term and to successfully promote key projects.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Dongguk Lee] Pohang City in Gyeongbuk Province held a forum from the 20th to the 21st by inviting former Chief of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, Koo Yoon-cheol, to establish development strategies for the 8th elected administration and to successfully promote key projects.

First, on the morning of the 20th, former Chief Koo gave a special lecture to all city department heads on the topic of “Establishing Development Strategies Linked to Pohang’s Regional Characteristics and Strengths.”

In the lecture, former Chief Koo explained, “Currently, South Korea is facing a stagflation economic situation where growth rates are falling while prices are rising due to external factors such as the Russia-Ukraine war and China’s shutdowns caused by COVID-19,” adding, “As demands for climate change, low carbon issues, and digital transformation arise, industrial paradigms are also changing, so thorough preparation is necessary.”

Accordingly, he emphasized, “First, it is essential to set a regional growth direction that aligns with the national development strategy and to thoroughly analyze the region’s strengths and potential to select and focus on the most competitive sectors. Pohang has made great efforts in attracting new industries through R&D institutions and talent development, and if advanced industries such as secondary batteries, bio, and hydrogen are well developed in the future, it will not only overcome crises but also achieve sustainable growth more than any other city.”

Following this, a sector-specific forum was held for consulting on key projects of the 8th elected administration.

On the morning of the 20th, discussions were held on key projects under the Welfare Bureau, Environment Bureau, and Administration and Safety Bureau, and from the afternoon, discussions focused on key project promotion strategies under the Urban Marine Bureau, Construction and Transportation Headquarters, and Clean Water Headquarters. The discussions proceeded in the order of presentations by the respective bureau heads on promotion strategies and key projects, followed by Q&A sessions.

On the morning of the 21st, discussions on key projects under the Job Economy Bureau, Agricultural Technology Center, and Green City Project Group were held, and in the afternoon, a comprehensive forum involving all department and section heads was scheduled.

The forum was planned to be held over a total of four sessions until the 21st.

Looking at the major key projects presented by each bureau at the forum, the Welfare Bureau explained projects such as ▲Creation of the Hyeongsan River National Defense Belt ▲Development of areas surrounding the US Forces Korea return sites ▲Construction of a memorial park; the Environment Bureau introduced ▲Carbon Neutral Technology Development Integration Center ▲Creation of a new comprehensive resource recycling city ▲Establishment of a Smart Food Safety Management Support Center; and the Administration and Safety Bureau described ▲Construction of the Pohang City Sports Hall ▲Creation of a sports park exclusively for amateur athletes ▲Construction of a landmark complex cultural performance hall.

The Urban Marine Bureau explained ▲Promotion of large-scale industrial complex remodeling ▲Creation of the Homigot Peninsula National Marine Garden ▲Development of the Yeongilman complex marine leisure tourism city; the Construction and Transportation Headquarters introduced ▲Construction of the Yeongilman Bridge ▲Double-track electrification of the Donghae Central Line ▲Creation of a northern area public bus garage; and the Clean Water Headquarters explained ▲Supply of industrial water to the Yeongilman Industrial Complex ▲Expansion of public sewage treatment facilities.

The city expressed that while explaining project plans, it faces many difficulties in project promotion due to issues such as overlap with nearby area projects, military area consultation problems, securing large-scale national funding, the need for government ministry project consulting, differences in responsible ministries for similar projects, private investment attraction, and corporate sponsorship problems, revealing the limitations and various challenges of local governments. It stressed that active cooperation and support from the central government are necessary to improve these issues.

In response, former Chief Koo stated, “The priority is to properly establish Pohang’s development strategy in line with government policy directions, select fields to intensively nurture by utilizing the region’s characteristics and strengths, and formulate strategies by thoroughly analyzing changing conditions such as the global environment, demographic changes, and low carbon,” adding, “For projects requiring national funding, it is important to firmly establish the logic on the effectiveness and justification of the project so that government ministries can fully empathize, and to thoroughly prepare procedures in advance.”

Former Chief of the Office for Government Policy Coordination Koo Yoon-cheol served in public office for 34 years, holding top-level positions such as Chief of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, 2nd Vice Minister of Strategy and Finance, and Director of the Budget Office for more than 16 years. He was the longest-serving Chief of the Office for Government Policy Coordination and retired on June 7th. At the request of Mayor Lee Kang-deok, he presided over the first regional development strategy forum in Pohang.

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