Mayor Lee Gang-deok, "Hoping to Open a New Era of Mutual Growth Between Pohang and POSCO Together"

Congratulations on the Inauguration of New Chairman Jang In-hwa, Anticipating a New Leadership for Mutual Growth

Emphasizing the Corporate Role in Overcoming Local Extinction and Solving Regional Issues as a Timely Mission

Mayor Lee Kang-deok of Pohang emphasized on the 21st, "I hope that Pohang City and POSCO will open a new era of mutual growth and coexistence together."

Mayor Lee Kang-deok of Pohang is explaining key local issues at the city hall briefing room on the 21st.

Mayor Lee made these remarks on the 21st at the city hall briefing room regarding the inauguration of POSCO's new chairman and the promotion of establishing a medical school at POSTECH.

Mayor Lee Kang-deok said, "On behalf of 500,000 citizens, I sincerely congratulate Jang In-hwa on his inauguration as the new chairman of POSCO," adding, "I hope POSCO, standing at a new starting point, will present new leadership and a future vision and open a new chapter of coexistence together."

The mayor expressed his hope that the new chairman would take bold decisions and actively engage in sincere communication and cooperative coexistence with the local community to resolve conflicts.

He stressed that in this serious situation where the country is facing a national crisis such as regional extinction due to concentration in the metropolitan area and worsening low birth rates, solving these issues requires the combined efforts of the government, local governments, corporations, and universities, emphasizing especially the important role of corporations.

Mayor Lee said, "POSCO, a national company that led the industrialization and modernization of the country, has valuable heritage and experience necessary for balanced development and solving the problem of regional extinction, such as the establishment of POSTECH and the construction of the Jigok Research Complex," adding, "Based on this, I ask for more interest and communication in solving regional issues to overcome the crisis of regional extinction, which is a mission of our times. Pohang City will also actively support POSCO's regional investment in new industrial fields without difficulties."

Regarding the government's announcement of the allocation results of medical school student quotas for the 2025 academic year, the mayor said that the direction of concentrating quotas on non-metropolitan universities and regional base universities to resolve medical disparities and improve regional medical conditions is correct, but it is regrettable that the establishment of a medical school at POSTECH was omitted.

Mayor Lee Kang-deok said, "The government has agreed to consider new medical schools in regions without medical schools if regional opinions are gathered, and the Central-Local Cooperation Council has also stated that it will actively review the establishment of a POSTECH medical school, so there is still hope for its establishment in the future," adding, "We will do our utmost to establish the POSTECH medical school, which is essential to prevent the collapse of regional medical care and to help Pohang leap forward as a regional medical hub city."

He also emphasized that POSTECH should take a leading and active role in establishing the POSTECH medical school, which will contribute to national development as a hub for the bio-healthcare industry and a cradle for training physician-scientists.

On the same day, regarding the mental damage compensation lawsuit related to the Pohang earthquake, Mayor Lee revealed that as of the 20th, the provisional statute of limitations, about 450,000 citizens are estimated to have participated in the lawsuit. He stated that legal review is underway to find ways to protect the rights of those who have not participated in the lawsuit even after the provisional statute of limitations, and that the city plans to propose citizens' positions to the government to ensure that the first trial ruling is maintained until the final judgment.

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