Gyeongnam Governor Park Wansu: "Local Autonomy and Responsibility Must Be Enhanced Together"

Pledging Gyeongnam's Rebound at the 'Local Era Vision Declaration Ceremony'

"For local regions to have self-sustaining power and take a leap forward, it is necessary to enhance both the autonomy and responsibility of the regions."

Park Wan-su, Governor of Gyeongnam Province, said this on the 14th at the 'Local Era Vision Proclamation Ceremony' held at the Busan International Financial Center.

Governor Park stated, "We will make efforts to achieve Gyeongnam's re-leap by significantly transferring central government authority and finances to local governments, properly nurturing strategic industries tailored to regional circumstances, and implementing continuous and consistent policies."

Governor Park Wansu of Gyeongnam Province. [Photo by Gyeongnam Provincial Government]

According to Gyeongnam Province, about 400 people attended the proclamation ceremony, including President Yoon Seok-yeol, members of the National Assembly, governors and education superintendents from cities and provinces nationwide, and members of the Local Era Committees from across the country.

The event proceeded in the order of delivering the Local Era proclamation message, awarding committee appointment certificates, watching a video on the Local Era theme, presenting the vision and strategy for the Local Era, and holding a strategic discussion on the Local Era.

On this day, the government announced related strategies and policies centered on the four major special zones of the Local Era: ▲Opportunity Development Zones ▲Education Freedom Zones ▲Urban Convergence Zones ▲Cultural Zones.

Following the enactment of the Special Act on Local Autonomy and Regional Balanced Development and its enforcement decree in July, the Local Era Committee, officially launched, saw 19 members including Chairman Woo Dong-gi and Vice Chairman Lee Jeong-hyun receive appointment certificates from the President.

The committee introduced nine key policies for the Local Era, including ▲creating quality jobs through designation of Opportunity Development Zones ▲introducing Education Freedom Zones and promoting regional-university co-growth ▲establishing Urban Convergence Zones to build a foundation for local revitalization ▲creating a cultural and content ecosystem through localism ▲comprehensive elimination of local killer regulations to activate regional private investment ▲transitioning to a decentralized national system.

The Vision Declaration Ceremony for the Local Era is being held at the Busan International Financial Center.
[Photo by International Newspaper]

Subsequently, President Yoon and governors from 14 cities and provinces nationwide announced the Local Era proclamation message titled 'Now is the Local Era? Local-led Balanced Development, Responsible Decentralization,' pledging efforts toward decentralization and regional balanced development.

The following discussion was conducted in a town hall meeting format, diagnosing regional realities from the public's perspective and proposing policies, with government ministries responding to questions and suggestions.

Questions poured in regarding job creation through Opportunity Development Zones, support for startups by small and medium enterprise representatives, improvement plans for digital innovation growth in local areas by tech company leaders, fostering Education Freedom Zones and local universities, and creating attractive and vibrant rural fishing villages.

The Local Era Committee, which officially began full-scale activities on this day, plans to accelerate the realization of the Local Era by ensuring that local residents can live in various areas such as education, jobs, healthcare, and culture without any disadvantage compared to the metropolitan area, and by broadly listening to the voices of local governments and the field to implement policies.

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