Local Government Head Wins 'Manager Award' for the First Time... Lee Cheol-woo, Governor of Gyeongbuk, Excels in Job Creation Sector

Gyeongbuk Province announced on the 26th that Governor Lee Cheol-woo received the ‘2023 Manager Award’ in the employment creation category, hosted by the Korean Academic Society of Business Administration.

Founded in 1988, the Korean Academic Society of Business Administration consists of over 9,500 researchers in Korea and aims to promote, disseminate, and exchange academic research related to business administration and related fields. Every year, it awards individuals who have contributed to industrial development and corporate management.

Lee Cheol-woo, Governor of Gyeongbuk Province (right in the photo), is greeting attendees at the job experts meeting.

This Manager Award is the first ever received by a local government head and is the first award given outside of central government departments for regional job activation policies.

Since Governor Lee Cheol-woo took office, Gyeongbuk Province has been promoting a differentiated job strategy called the ‘Living Economic Zone-Centered Job Strategy,’ reflecting the characteristics of regions and target groups, in response to the need to enhance regional competitiveness and employment outcomes in the era of industrial and labor transition.

To address urgent regional issues such as local extinction and youth outflow, the province has been implementing field-oriented job projects that link local key industries with future strategic industries, in connection with government job contest projects and its own initiatives.

As a result of these strategies, the number of employed persons in Gyeongbuk Province reached 1,462,000 last year, an increase of 52,000 (3.7%) compared to the previous year, and the employment rate rose by 1.9 percentage points to 62.9%. This is the highest level ever recorded outside the metropolitan area, reflecting that the job policies promoted by Gyeongbuk Province are clearly leading to job creation.

The regionally tailored job creation projects promoted by Gyeongbuk Province to resolve local employment crises have boasted the best nationwide performance for three consecutive years.

Additionally, the region-led youth job project secures the largest amount of national funding among local governments nationwide every year, demonstrating that Gyeongbuk Province’s job policies are also recognized in the private sector.

Lee Dal-hee, Deputy Governor for Economy of Gyeongbuk Province, who attended the award ceremony on behalf of Governor Lee Cheol-woo, stated, “Revitalizing local jobs is the driving force leading the era of local autonomy,” and added, “We will continue to provide unwavering support so that Gyeongbuk Province’s job policies, recognized even in the private sector, can have a positive influence nationwide.”

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