Gyeongbuk Governor Lee Cheol-woo Receives 'Korea Local Autonomy Development Award' ... "We Must Open the Era of Local Government"

Johyeonil Gyeongsan Mayor and Kim Cheolsu Pohang City Councilor Awarded

Kim Changhyuk, Nam Youngsuk, and Lee Sunhee Gyeongbuk Provincial Councilors Also Honored

Lee Cheol-woo, Governor of Gyeongbuk Province and Chairman of the Korea Council of Governors, received the '2023 Korea Autonomy Development Award' on the 5th, hosted by the Korea Institute for Local Autonomy Development and sponsored by the Korean Association for Local Government Studies and the Korean Regional Development Association.

The Korea Autonomy Development Award ceremony, held at the Baekbeom Kim Gu Memorial Hall Convention Hall, marked its 7th edition this year since its inception in 2017. The award recognized 37 individuals across four categories (national administration, metropolitan, basic, and others), including members of the National Assembly, local government heads, superintendents of education, local council members, and public officials who contributed to the advancement of local autonomy and educational autonomy.

Lee Cheol-woo, Governor of Gyeongbuk Province.

Recipients from the Gyeongbuk region included six honorees: Lee Cheol-woo, Governor of Gyeongbuk Province, awarded in the metropolitan local government heads category; metropolitan council members Kim Chang-hyuk, Nam Young-sook, and Lee Sun-hee; basic local government head Cho Hyun-il, Mayor of Gyeongsan; and basic council member Kim Cheol-soo, Pohang City Council member.

Professor Ha Hye-soo of Kyungpook National University, who served as the chair of the judging panel, stated, “We aimed to contribute to achieving better local and educational autonomy by selecting and awarding those who demonstrated exemplary achievements in regional innovation and development through the utilization of distinctive local resources or original administration.”

Professor Ha particularly noted, “Governor Lee Cheol-woo, who received the metropolitan local autonomy development award, has made significant contributions as Chairman of the Korea Council of Governors by expanding the role of local governments as partners in national administration alongside the central government. His efforts in developing and implementing Gyeongbuk’s unique policies to overcome regional extinction through the K-U City project were especially commendable.”

Governor Lee was also recognized for leading the era of livable localities by achieving top government evaluations in youth policy through the youth settlement city K-U City project and the expansion of the Population Reversal Neighbor Village initiative, being selected as a pilot area for the regional innovation-centered university support system and having the highest number of Glocal University preliminary selections nationwide, as well as early completion of the region-specific visa pilot project.

Furthermore, Governor Lee led efforts in realizing a robust local economy and successful business growth, including being the first metropolitan local government to receive the Excellent Local Government Award for Social Enterprise Promotion, ranking first nationwide in social value index measurement, winning the Presidential Award at the 2023 National Local Government Job Awards, and achieving 11.5 trillion KRW in investment attraction during the 8th elected term.

Governor Lee Cheol-woo, recipient of the Autonomy Development Award, emphasized, “Korea has entered the threshold of advanced countries through successful democratization and industrialization. To firmly establish itself as a respected advanced nation globally, it is essential to open the era of local governance and succeed in decentralization.” He added, “Local governments must plan independently under autonomy and responsibility, pursue field-centered integrated administration, and the central government must establish a decentralized national management system that maintains the system and sets the future direction of the country.”

He also expressed, “Receiving such a prestigious award is largely due to the strength and efforts of the residents who have united and demonstrated great power in moments of national crisis,” and added, “I look forward to the role of residents in the success of the Yoon Seok-youl administration’s local era and will share the joy of this award with the 3 million residents.”

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