Gwangju City to Build a 'Global Inclusive City' with Immigrants

Foreign Residents Policy Committee Reviews and Approves Basic Plan
Key Initiatives Include Establishment of Immigration Human Rights Center

Vision framework of the "Global Inclusive City" presented by Gwangju City. Provided by Gwangju City

Gwangju City has established a 'Basic Plan for Foreign Resident Policy' that includes specific implementation measures for attracting and supporting the settlement of foreigners.

On the 17th, Gwangju City held a Foreign Resident Policy Committee meeting in the City Hall's Happiness Conference Room, where it deliberated and finalized the '1st Basic Plan for Gwangju City Foreign Resident Policy (2024-2028)'.

The Foreign Resident Policy Committee is an organization that deliberates and advises on key policies related to supporting foreign residents. It includes foreign residents, representatives from foreign resident support organizations and institutions, and experts in foreign resident policy.

In the basic plan, the city set forth the vision of 'Gwangju, a Globally Inclusive City Together with Immigrants', and established five major strategies, twelve action tasks, and ten core tasks.

The five major strategies are: ▲Creating a mutually inclusive environment based on cultural diversity ▲Establishing a foundation for immigrant settlement and growth ▲Promoting and protecting immigrant human rights ▲Advancing as a global city together with immigrants ▲Building governance for the efficient implementation of immigration policy.

The ten core tasks include: ▲Improving global citizenship awareness ▲Establishing an Immigrant Human Rights Center ▲Strengthening the role of the Foreign Resident Support Center ▲Supporting the growth of second-generation immigrants ▲Expanding support for international students' settlement ▲Strengthening protection for vulnerable immigrants ▲Designing a regional demand-based metropolitan visa ▲Field-oriented policy governance ▲Establishing a growth system for overseas talent ▲Enhancing the global city brand.

To establish the basic plan, the city commissioned the Gwangju Institute in January to conduct research on foreign resident policy as a current issue. Gwangju Social Service Institute and Gwangju Foundation for Women and Family participated as collaborative research organizations, conducting focus group interviews (FGI) and identifying detailed projects to draft the basic plan. In addition, diverse opinions were collected from foreign residents, foreign resident support organizations and institutions, relevant city departments, and experts in each field.

As of November last year, the number of foreign residents in Gwangju was 46,859, accounting for 3.2% of the total population. Over the past ten years, there has been an average annual increase of 7.8%. With the government's expansion of overseas workforce quotas and newly permitted industries, a continued increase is expected.

Lee Youngdong, Director of the Department of Women and Family, stated, "Through this basic plan, we will help foreign residents settle stably, develop immigrant attraction and support policies tailored to local characteristics, and provide opportunities to contribute to regional development and social integration by implementing a systematic and comprehensive foreign resident policy."

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