Kim Dong-yeon: "Gyeonggi Bukbu Special Self-Governing Province Will Be a Great Asset for South Korea's Development"

Welcome Speech at the '20th Anniversary Ceremony and Symposium of the National Balanced Development Declaration'

Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon is taking a commemorative photo with attendees at the 20th anniversary ceremony of the National Balanced Development Declaration on the 29th.

Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon stated, "Through the Gyeonggi Northern Special Autonomous Province, Gyeonggi Province will take the lead in regional innovation and national balanced development."

Governor Kim emphasized this in his welcoming speech at the ‘20th Anniversary Ceremony and Symposium of the National Balanced Development Declaration’ held on the 29th at KINTEX in Goyang City. The event was organized by Gyeonggi Province, Jeollabuk-do, and the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation to commemorate the ‘Declaration of the Era of Decentralization and Balanced Development’ by the Roh Moo-hyun administration in 2004.

Governor Kim said, "After recently attending the Davos Forum, I reflected on national balanced development and the role of local governments. When the central government fails to properly respond to international changes such as climate change or fiscal policy, the roles of local governments and regions become important. I felt that innovation at the local level is crucial as the central government appears to be retreating even in national balanced development."

He added, "Since my inauguration, Gyeonggi Province has been promoting the Gyeonggi Northern Special Autonomous Province. If separated, it would become the third largest province after Seoul. I believe that the 3.6 million human resources, well-preserved nature, and ecosystems of Gyeonggi Province are valuable assets that can contribute not only to Gyeonggi but also to the development of the Republic of Korea."

Using the influx of tourists to Yangyang County in Gangwon Province as an example, Governor Kim said, "Until now, the focus has been on hardware and the metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas, but going forward, new content will become the competitiveness of local regions. On the 20th anniversary of national balanced development, we must all dedicate ourselves to national balanced development while remembering the will of former President Roh Moo-hyun," he stressed.

Before the ceremony, an expert discussion on national balanced development and the Gyeonggi Northern Special Autonomous Province was held. A performance expressing the hopes for balanced development from all 17 cities and provinces nationwide was also conducted.

Meanwhile, Gyeonggi Province has consistently communicated with residents over 100 times through vision and development strategy policy research, the launch of a public-private joint promotion committee, deliberative public surveys, and city and county tours to explain the establishment of the Gyeonggi Northern Special Autonomous Province. Additionally, it prepared a vision and roadmap for large-scale northern development and proposed to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety to hold a resident referendum on the establishment of the Northern Special Autonomous Province.

This year, to concretize the vision for large-scale northern development, Gyeonggi Province launched a dedicated task force (TF) for northern large-scale development led by the second deputy governor of administration, and is currently soliciting future-oriented names for the Northern Special Autonomous Province. The province also plans to continue efforts for the development of northern Gyeonggi and the establishment of the Northern Special Autonomous Province by promoting a common pledge campaign for the Northern Special Autonomous Province.

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