Hong Taeyong, Mayor of Gimhae, "Always thinking about what to leave for the next generation"

Press Conference Held to Commemorate the 1st Anniversary of Inauguration

Since his candidacy, Hong Taeyong, mayor of Gimhae City, Gyeongnam, who has called himself the "King of Communication," cited "communication" as a major achievement at a press conference commemorating his first anniversary in office held on the 28th.

Mayor Hong said, "I have been visiting towns and townships to explain the city's goals and directions and listen to the voices of citizens," adding, "I was able to directly manage local issues and projects requested by towns and townships, and I tried to establish two-way communication through the process of seeking understanding and cooperation."

He continued, "Although Gimhae is the city with the second largest population in Gyeongnam after Changwon, it has played a role close to a bed town where people who study or work in Changwon and Busan only come to sleep. It is regrettable that we have not been able to establish infrastructure such as public institutions, large national projects, or national industrial complexes."

He said, "If the past year was a time to firmly establish a new administrative framework, now the work of shaping the flesh and letting the blood flow must continue," adding, "I will constantly contemplate what the city will leave for the next generation."

Hong Tae-yong, Mayor of Gimhae City, Gyeongnam, is sharing his achievements and reflections at the 1st anniversary press conference.
[Photo by Lee Se-ryeong]

As the next direction for city administration, he presented ▲creating a cultural city management model ▲increasing the scale of finances and strengthening soundness ▲accelerating securing future 100-year growth engines ▲nationalizing the carbon-neutral Gimhae brand ▲realizing welfare for all without exclusion or discrimination ▲declaring 2024 as the Year of Visit Gimhae, marking a turning point in the city's history.

To this end, he promised to build an online two-way communication platform, expand the 3-small citizen communication system and dialogues with citizens in towns and townships, increase the city’s budget to 2.6 trillion won by 2026, reduce the debt-to-budget ratio from the current 7.9% to 5% by 2026, and attract the Northeast Asia logistics platform.

He announced a focus on nurturing five strategic industries: bio-life sciences, digital logistics, smart sensors, future automobiles, and intelligent robots, as well as creating a global specialized industrial complex and designating a digital logistics-based opportunity development special zone.

He also mentioned establishing and legislating a project to eradicate plastic artificial flowers in park cemeteries, promoting separate collection and treatment policies for waste vinyl, providing childbirth congratulatory funds, and installing Station-L, a learning and play space for infants and mothers.

Mayor Hong declared 2024, when the National Sports Festival and East Asia Cultural City events will be held, as the "Year of Visit Gimhae" and vowed to make it a "turning point in the city's history."

He plans to develop linked content and products to enhance Gimhae’s tourism appeal and open the Gimhae City Kim Youngwon Art Museum to achieve harmony among culture, arts, tourism, and sports.

He also spoke about the concentrated attraction of public institutions in the metropolitan area, the creation of the Gimhae Global Convergence Content Industry Town and Digital Innovation Valley, the establishment of the provincial Gimhae Medical Center, and the founding of the Gimhae Research Institute.

‘Todeogi’, proposed as the new symbol of Gimhae City, Gyeongnam.
Photo by Lee Seryeong

On the same day, Mayor Hong also announced a new symbol redesign visualizing the slogan "Gimhae, a warm and happy city where dreams come true."

The character "Todeogi," a compound of the Chinese character for soil (土) and the English word "duck," was created based on a Gaya period duck-patterned earthenware excavated from the Mangdeok-ri tumulus cluster in Juchon-myeon in 2011.

The new symbol "Todeogi" will be finalized through expert consultation, feedback from city hall employees and citizens, and ordinance amendments, and once confirmed, it will be used alongside the existing "Gaya Royal Capital Gimhae."

Mayor Hong said, "The rise and fall of a city depends on its people," adding, "To this end, I will create a Gimhae where people want to live, ensuring quality of life that satisfies all stages of life throughout their lifetime."

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