Im Taek, Mayor of Gwangju Dong-gu, Receives 'Korea Local Autonomy Development Award'

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Jin-hyung] Dong-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City announced on the 26th that Im Taek, the head of Dong-gu, received the Grand Prize in the Basic Division at the ‘2022 Korea Local Autonomy Development Awards’.

The Korea Local Autonomy Development Awards, hosted by the Korea Local Autonomy Development Institute and sponsored by the Korean Association for Local Autonomy Studies, is an award given to members of the National Assembly, heads of local governments, and basic council members who have implemented policies contributing to regional development by utilizing unique local resources or exemplary policies in local autonomy and decentralization.

Marking its 6th year, Im was selected in the Basic Division, which only chooses six heads of local governments nationwide, recognizing his achievements so far, and he is the only autonomous district head in Gwangju to receive this honor.

Im has been doing his best to realize resident-centered local autonomy through projects such as the creation of the Village Sarangchae, a living culture hub space; the pilot implementation of the Dong-gu type Residents’ Autonomy Committee; village brand development; and the apartment project for restoring the Onri (溫理) Dong-gu community.

Additionally, he has promoted creative and innovative policies aimed at revitalizing the local economy, discovering future growth engines, and improving residents’ quality of life, including the creation of a humanities city led by residents; tourism marketing such as operating the Dong-gu city tour (Seoul metropolitan area/Daegu); the Chungjang commercial district renaissance project; the establishment of a regional hub smart city; and welfare policies tailored for single-person households.

Im Taek, head of Dong-gu, said, “This award is a valuable achievement made together with 100,000 Dong-gu residents,” and added, “I will continue to implement policies suited to the characteristics of the region through active communication administration with residents.”

Meanwhile, the awards ceremony is scheduled to be held on October 5th at the Convention Hall of the Baekbeom Kim Koo Memorial Hall in Yongsan-gu, Seoul.

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