Accelerating Gumi's Reinvention... Securing Nationwide Government Funding

Promotion of New National and Provincial Projects Worth 820 Billion KRW in the First Year of the 8th Elected Term

Accelerating Improvement of Living Conditions through Expansion of Living Infrastructure and Urban Landscape Development

Gumi City in Gyeongbuk has concentrated all administrative efforts on securing national funding to expand its poor local finances and swiftly address regional issues. As a result, during the first year of the 8th elected administration, the city secured a total of 820 billion KRW in new national and provincial projects, achieving results across all areas of city administration. Through this, it is accelerating improvements in residents' living conditions, such as expanding living infrastructure and creating urban landscapes.

Gumi City Hall.

◆ Improvement of Sports Facility Infrastructure ... Leap to a Global Sports City

Last December, the city successfully secured the hosting rights for the ‘2025 Asian Athletics Championships,’ competing against Xiamen City in China with a population of 5.2 million. It is the third time in Korea and the first time for a basic local government to host this event. Led by Mayor Kim Jang-ho, the city has repeatedly visited the National Assembly and central government ministries to continuously request administrative and financial support from the government.

As a result, three projects (total project cost of 15.2 billion KRW), including the renovation of the Citizen Stadium, Park Chung-hee Gymnasium, and the Olympic Memorial National Sports Center, were selected for the ‘2024 Living Sports Facility Support Project’ hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, securing 5.16 billion KRW in national funding. Additionally, the city plans to secure special grants and special adjustment grants to build infrastructure for the event.

The renovation projects for the Citizen Stadium and Park Chung-hee Gymnasium are expected to establish facilities suitable for various international and national competitions. The seismic reinforcement and full renovation of the aging Olympic Memorial National Sports Center will provide citizens with a safe and comfortable sports space.

Hosting the 26th Asian Athletics Championships 2025.

◆ Full-scale Promotion of Urban Landscape Improvement Project through Selection in Public Design Contest

In April, the city was selected for the ‘2023 International Event Hosting City Public Design Contest’ hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and organized by the Korea Craft & Design Foundation, securing 950 million KRW in national funding (total project cost of 1.9 billion KRW) for urban landscape improvement.

Accordingly, the city will actively promote projects such as ▲creating an image landscape on the outer wall of the Citizen Stadium ▲landscape creation at the Gumi IC entrance and exit ▲installation of a symbolic sculpture at the Citizen Stadium entrance roundabout ▲improvement of day and night landscapes around the Tower of Gumi Export Industry, providing citizens with a pleasant and beautiful urban landscape.

◆ One Year of the 8th Elected Administration, All-Out Effort to Secure National Funding for Gumi’s Re-Creation

In January, the city established a dedicated team for securing national and provincial funding through the first organizational restructuring of the 8th elected administration. It prepared phased strategies according to the government budget schedule to proactively respond to securing national funding. The city held five strategic report meetings to discover new projects linked to government policies and three meetings with local National Assembly members and provincial councilors to discuss national funding.

In particular, Mayor Kim Jang-ho, who has taken on the role of Gumi’s first sales representative, emphasized fast and results-oriented field administration. Based on his unique passion and extensive personal network, he visited the Presidential Office, central government ministries, and Gyeongbuk Provincial Office more than 40 times, dedicating himself to securing national and provincial funding to resolve pending issues.

Mayor Kim Jang-ho said, “Since taking office, I have been running tirelessly to lay the foundation for Gumi’s leap forward, such as designating the semiconductor specialized complex and defense industry innovation cluster. We will focus on discovering project businesses linked to national advanced strategic industries, expand infrastructure for the successful hosting of the 2025 Asian Athletics Championships in Gumi, and secure national funding on all fronts, including building a wide-area transportation network in preparation for the new airport era, to accelerate Gumi’s re-creation.”

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