One Year Since the Launch of Changwon Special City under Hong Nampyo ... Laid the Foundation for 50 Years of Future Growth

Mayor Hong: "We will lead innovative growth to take responsibility for the next 50 years and stand tall as a Northeast Asia hub city"

Preparing a growth foundation for the next 50 years by attracting National Industrial Complex 2.0, making swift pr

The Hong Nampyo administration of Changwon Special City, which has set the municipal vision as "Northeast Asia Central City Changwon," has marked its first year since inauguration in the 8th term of the elected government.

The conditions faced were not easy. The global supply environment was rapidly changing due to the third consecutive year of the COVID-19 pandemic and the US-China hegemony conflict. In particular, the previous government's nuclear phase-out policy dealt a heavy blow to the main industries. As a result, the population, which was 1.1 million at the beginning of the integrated city’s launch, decreased to 1.03 million and continued to decline. The city’s financial status also forecasted a heavy burden, with integrated debt reaching about 1 trillion won.

Hong Nampyo, Mayor of Changwon Special City, Gyeongnam.

Changwon Special City Mayor Hong Nampyo said, “Changwon has been a proud city leading South Korea’s economic development for the past 50 years, but it has stagnated and lost economic vitality due to failure to respond to changes in the Fourth Industrial Revolution era,” and focused first on revitalizing Changwon’s economy.

◆ Securing Future Growth Foundations to Lead Economic Rebound

In March, the areas of Buk-myeon and Dong-eup in Uichang-gu were selected as candidates for Changwon National Industrial Complex 2.0. The city plans to develop this area into a new specialized industrial complex for the Fourth Industrial Revolution era, benchmarking advanced manufacturing cities such as Grenoble in France and Sendai in Japan, linking cutting-edge research facilities and talent cultivation.

Alongside this, the existing Changwon National Industrial Complex, which has led South Korea’s economic development for the past 50 years, has begun upgrading for digital transformation. To this end, in April, the city signed memorandums of understanding with LNI 4.0, the core institution of Germany’s Industry 4.0 policy, Siemens, a global leader in smart factory fields, and Dassault Syst?mes. Earlier, the city started the 3D industrial complex digital platform construction project and launched the 50th anniversary development council for the Changwon National Industrial Complex to prepare long-term development plans.

The restoration of the nuclear industry ecosystem was also accelerated. In July last year, the city signed an MOU with the Korea Development Bank, and since August, a nuclear power finance policy officer has been stationed in the city to assist companies. Additionally, the city was designated as an “Energy Industry Convergence Complex” including the nuclear power sector by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, and opened a Nuclear Power Company Rapid Support Center in collaboration with the government to provide customized services to companies.

In January, during President Yoon Suk-yeol’s state visit to the UAE, Changwon was the only local government to participate in the economic delegation, signing a memorandum of understanding for mutual cooperation with Abu Dhabi, establishing a foothold for hydrogen companies to enter the Middle Eastern market. Also, in January, nine companies participated in the “CES 2023” in the United States, and in April, ten companies participated in the “Hannover Messe” industrial fair in Germany, supporting companies’ overseas market development.

In April, the city was selected for the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy’s project to establish a medical and bio advanced device research and manufacturing center. In the mobility sector, the city secured the 2023 drone demonstration city construction project and the second phase of the Urban Air Mobility (UAM) demonstration project, laying the foundation for nurturing future new industries. The city also established core infrastructure that will become the standard for the hydrogen industry, including demonstration operation of large hydrogen special vehicles (10-ton hydrogen cleaning trucks), completion of carbon dioxide capture and utilization facilities, and construction of an integrated Daewon hydrogen refueling station for hydrogen mobility.

Uichang-gu Buk-myeon and Dong-eup areas have been selected as candidate sites for Changwon National Industrial Complex 2.0.

◆ Adding Special Features Suitable for a City of One Million

To improve the poor medical service environment, where many people from Gyeongnam and Changwon travel to the metropolitan area for medical treatment, the city focused on efforts to attract a medical school to Changwon. In January this year, the city formed a “Medical School Attraction Planning Team,” launched a pan-citizen promotion committee and held a rally, hosted a National Assembly forum, and promoted a one million citizens one million signature campaign.

The three major representative festivals ? Jinhae Gunhangje Festival, Masan Chrysanthemum Festival, and Changwon K-POP World Festival ? which could not operate normally due to COVID-19, attracted millions of domestic and international tourists, generating an economic effect of 270 billion won. Three water purification plants in Seokdong, Daesan, and Buk-myeon obtained ISO 22000 (Food Safety Management System) international certification, managing tap water at food-grade quality.

To ensure fast traffic flow and respond to carbon neutrality, the city has shifted to a public transportation-centered city. Since June, the city has operated a fully revamped city bus route system for the first time in 18 years. Also, the urban railway (tram) network construction plan, the first step toward introducing urban rail transit, received approval from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. The city was also selected for the “Masan Station Future Transfer Center Pilot Project,” which will become a new landmark in Masan.

The city drove strong innovation across all aspects of administration, including finance, organization, and operations. First, it conducted a precise analysis and diagnosis of finances and launched financial innovation to resolve the absolute shortage of available resources and the rapid increase in debt. Through this, the city saved 440 billion won in city budget and repaid 34.3 billion won of debt early.

Additionally, the city began strategic organizational design to support its leap to a Northeast Asia central city, reorganizing around core tasks by establishing and advancing organizations to prepare for future industries. Furthermore, administrative services, which had been supplier-centered, were shifted to demand-centered and applied throughout the city administration.

◆ Future Directions for Municipal Administration

Efforts must be made to obtain final approval for the industrial complex of Changwon National Industrial Complex 2.0, which was selected as a candidate site. The key to the new national industrial complex is differentiated infrastructure construction. This year, the city plans to focus on building cutting-edge joint research facilities such as the next-generation advanced composite beam investigation facility, securing planning service fees, establishing high-level talent training institutions, and attracting anchor companies and research and development-focused public institutions.

Also, next year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Changwon National Industrial Complex, which requires a major transformation into an industrial complex leading the Fourth Industrial Revolution era. To this end, the city will focus on discovering related projects and securing national budget funds, including the construction of a smart factory support center that will serve as a control tower.

At the same time, the city must create a place where young people want to work and stay. The city’s population continues to decline, with the biggest reason being the outflow of youth. The direction of local talent cultivation should expand from manufacturing-centered to service industries. To this end, efforts should be made with local universities to establish specialized departments such as pharmacy, veterinary medicine, and law schools.

Moreover, all members must unite in one voice to prepare countermeasures for failed private investment projects such as Masan Robot Land, Ungdong District, and Pallyong Tunnel, which pose a heavy burden on the city’s finances, and to attract a medical school to Changwon.

Mayor Hong emphasized, “In addition to working hard, we will do things properly,” and said, “We will lead innovative growth that will take responsibility for Changwon’s next 50 years, becoming a city full of happiness and vitality, and standing tall as the Northeast Asia central city Changwon.”

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