Jinbok Lee, Senior Secretary for Political Affairs, Visited by Junakyeong, Mayor of Gyeongju, "APEC Summit in Gyeongju"

On the 4th, Joo Nak-young, Mayor of Gyeongju City, visited the Presidential Office in Yongsan, Seoul, to report on major pending projects that Gyeongju City is pursuing with utmost determination and to request full government support.

Mayor Joo met sequentially with Lee Jin-bok, Senior Secretary for Political Affairs, and Seo Seung-woo, Secretary for Administrative Autonomy, reporting on key projects in the Gyeongju area and requesting support to hold the 2025 APEC Summit in Gyeongju.

At the meeting, Mayor Joo Nak-young emphasized, “It is customary for the APEC Summit to be held in regional cities rather than the metropolitan area, reflecting APEC’s commitment to inclusive growth,” adding, “Gyeongju is the optimal location for the summit as it can maximize the realization of the government’s national goal of balanced development in the local era.”

Mayor Joo further stated, “There is sufficient justification and necessity to hold the APEC Summit in Gyeongju, a regional city, to realize the government’s national goal of ‘achieving a local era where everyone in Korea lives well.’”

Joo Nak-young, Mayor of Gyeongju, is taking a photo after meeting with Lee Jin-bok, Senior Secretary for Political Affairs at the Presidential Office (left in the photo), to propose local projects in the Gyeongju area.

Mayor Joo also requested that the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, which had been passive so far, take a more responsible and active role as the main ministry in passing the local tax law amendment on high-level radioactive waste taxation, the region’s biggest pending issue. He also asked for active support to attract new defense industry companies to idle sites such as Duryu Industrial Complex and Geomdan Industrial Complex in connection with Poongsan Metal’s Gyeongju plant, a defense contractor.

Mayor Joo also proposed amending the Outdoor Advertising Act to address the recent public outcry over the proliferation of political party banners.

In response, Senior Secretary for Political Affairs Lee Jin-bok said, “We will actively review the major issues proposed by Gyeongju City, considering its symbolic status as a historic and cultural city and its unique characteristics as a city with six nuclear power plants and a low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste disposal site.”

On the 30th of last month, Gyeongju City held the launch ceremony of the ‘2025 APEC Summit Gyeongju Hosting Citizens’ Promotion Committee’ at the Gyeongju HICO (Hyangnam International Convention Center) and is continuing its vigorous efforts to attract the APEC Summit hosting city designation.

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