Mayor Joo Gwangdeok Presents Appointment Letter to Kang Jeesang, First Director of Namyangju City Policy Research Institute

Organizational Structure and Policy Functions Accelerate Ahead of Official Opening in July
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Namyangju City in Gyeonggi Province (Mayor Joo Gwangdeok) held a ceremony on the 26th to present the appointment letter to the first director of the Namyangju City Policy Research Institute.

Joo Gwangdeok, Mayor of Namyangju City (left), is presenting the appointment letter to Kang Jeesang, the first director of the Namyangju City Policy Research Institute, on the 26th. Provided by Namyangju City

The city conducted an open recruitment and screening process for the director position starting in April, selected the final candidate, and, after a personnel hearing by the city council, the board of the Policy Research Institute gave final approval for the appointment on the 20th.

The newly appointed director, Kang Jeesang, graduated from Hanyang University, earned his master’s degree from the same university’s graduate school, and obtained a doctorate in public administration from New York University (NYU).

From 1996 to 2025, he served as a professor of public administration at Kyung Hee University and has accumulated extensive experience and expertise through various roles, including Director of Admissions at Kyung Hee University, Policy Advisory Committee Member at the Ministry of Personnel Management, President of the Korean Association for Public Administration, and Co-Representative of the Citizens’ Coalition for Administrative Reform.

Namyangju City expects that, with the appointment of Kang Jeesang as the first director, the institute will design mid- to long-term industrial and urban policy directions, establish a collaborative system among industry, academia, research, and government, and demonstrate strategic leadership to drive the institute’s vision and execution capabilities.

Mayor Joo Gwangdeok stated, “The new director, Kang Jeesang, is a leading authority in public administration with a deep understanding of municipal affairs and policy planning capabilities. He is the right person to lead the robust operation of the institute and to strengthen its policy research capacity. The city will continue to pursue administrative innovation by recruiting talented professionals with expertise.”

Meanwhile, the city is accelerating its preparations for the official opening of the Namyangju City Policy Research Institute in July and has begun laying the groundwork for full-scale research activities and policy research.

The Namyangju City Policy Research Institute is a policy research organization established to enhance professionalism and execution capabilities across all areas of municipal administration. In particular, it will serve as a control tower supporting core strategies for transforming Namyangju’s industrial ecosystem, such as the development of the Wangsuk New Town high-tech industrial complex and the construction of hydrogen energy-based infrastructure.

In addition, the institute plans to establish a policy implementation system capable of diversifying and advancing the industrial structure, as well as formulating customized strategies and proactively proposing policies that reflect local characteristics.

Going forward, Namyangju City will actively promote policy- and data-driven administration and sustainable industrial transition strategies centered on the Policy Research Institute, and will strengthen its function as an open policy platform in which citizens, businesses, and experts can all participate.

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