Damyang County Governor Lee Byeong-no's Extensive Domestic and International Efforts to Secure Future Food Sources Draw Attention

Focusing on Citizen-Centered Administration through Active Communication

Promoting the 6th Industrialization of Agriculture and Diversifying Sales Channels for Building Prosperous Rural Communities

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Chunsu] Lee Byeongno, the mayor of Damyang County, is drawing attention for his extensive activities both domestically and internationally to secure future growth engines for the region.

Since taking office, Mayor Lee has been leading the county administration by visiting sites daily and leveraging his flexible thinking and communication strengths.

First, he established a Seoul office and appointed a young policy advisor, formerly a policy secretary to a People Power Party lawmaker, to serve as a bridge with the government and ruling party, thereby strengthening communication channels.

He also set up a Regulatory Reform Committee, taking the lead in revitalizing the economy and resolving residents' difficulties through swift and bold deregulation.

In September, he visited Jeonnam Province and central government ministries to propose the conversion of balanced national development projects and national budget requests to address pressing issues, continuing his efforts for regional development.

In particular, during a visit to the National Assembly, he met with lawmakers from Damyang?Lee Gaeho, Jo Oseop, Yoon Yeongdeok, and Go Yeongjin?as well as Lee Seongbaek, president of the Finance and Economy Alumni Association, appealing for full support from the National Assembly and hometown alumni to secure national funding and promote the hometown love donation campaign starting next year.

Additionally, as part of the '2022-2023 Jeonnam Province Year of Visits' event, he invited about 350 hometown alumni, strengthening personal networks with expatriates and promoting communication activities both inside and outside the region.

He has not neglected communication with local businesspeople either.

He visited the Damyang Eco Agricultural Industrial Complex Managers Association to identify and review economic regulations hindering business operations, and shared opinions on on-site regulatory experiences through meetings with architects from inside and outside the region.

To promote the purchase of local products, he held open communication meetings with local design and manufacturing companies, discussing issues and measures such as prioritizing local products in design, industrial complex support, and environmental improvement plans without reservation.

Communication with the agricultural sector, a major source of income in the region, has also been active. He held a Damyang Agricultural Chamber of Commerce meeting with about 150 members and agricultural officials, explaining the agricultural policy direction and major project plans for the 8th local government term.

Among 68 proposals submitted through township meetings by the Agricultural Chamber, 32, including the expansion of organic fertilizer projects, were reflected in next year's agricultural policies, and plans for medium- and long-term review of 19 proposals were announced, receiving strong support from attending farmers.

His efforts for future growth engines have extended overseas as well. On October 25, Mayor Lee embarked on a business trip to the United States and signed a demonstration business agreement for a robot-based fully automated greenhouse with Zordi (CEO Lee Gilwoo), an agricultural startup, marking the first such agreement by a local government.

They plan to actively utilize an intelligent agricultural system applying artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, Internet of Things (IoT), and big data to crop cultivation environments to address rural aging and labor shortages, and to protect people from climate change and high-risk labor.

Furthermore, they signed a commercial licensing agreement for premium strawberries ‘Jukhyang’ and ‘Merry Queen’, developed by Damyang County, opening a foothold to target the world's largest market, the United States.

Zordi highly evaluated the excellence of the ‘Jukhyang’ and ‘Merry Queen’ varieties, expressing interest in trial cultivation in the U.S. since 2021, and has been conducting cultivation since July of the same year, verifying the feasibility of strawberry cultivation in robot-based fully automated greenhouses.

Market tests of various strawberry varieties conducted in New York from December last year to January this year showed that ‘Jukhyang’ and ‘Merry Queen’ received very high evaluations for taste, aroma, and color, raising expectations that this commercial licensing agreement will greatly contribute to the globalization of Damyang strawberries.

Mayor Lee Byeongno said, “To solve the numerous pressing issues in the region, we need to communicate with a more flexible mindset,” adding, “We will do our best to firmly prepare future growth engines to lead future agriculture and take a step forward toward a new Damyang.”

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