Mayor Kim Kyungil: "An Opportunity to Build a Self-Sustaining City of One Million... Will Do Our Best to Attract the Peace Economy Special Zone"

Paju City Pursues the Peace Economy Special Zone with Citizens' Support
"Paju Peace Economy Special Zone Citizen Symposium" Held

Paju City in Gyeonggi Province announced on the 25th that it held the "Paju Peace Economy Special Zone Citizen Symposium" on the 24th to expand public consensus and collect opinions regarding the Peace Economy Special Zone. The city stated that it will actively pursue attracting the Peace Economy Special Zone to Paju, gathering the aspirations of its citizens.

Paju City held the "Paju Peace Economy Special Zone Citizen Symposium" on the 24th to expand public consensus and gather opinions on the Peace Economy Special Zone, and is taking a commemorative photo afterward. Provided by Paju City

Since the enactment of the "Peace Economy Special Zone Act" in 2023, Paju City has been actively promoting the value and justification of Paju as the optimal location for the Peace Economy Special Zone and working to expand public consensus. The city explained that this "Citizen Symposium" was organized to discuss with citizens why the Peace Economy Special Zone should be established and why it should be located in Paju.

Attended by over 250 citizens, including Mayor Kim Kyungil of Paju, the symposium began with a keynote presentation by Professor Lee Youngseong of Seoul National University, who is in charge of the research project on "Developing Concrete Measures for the Establishment of the Paju Peace Economy Special Zone." The event continued with an in-depth discussion on the "Development Direction for the Paju Peace Economy Special Zone," joined by Professor Lee Wonbin of Yonsei University, Center Director Cho Seongtaek of the Gyeonggi Research Institute, and President Hong Jinggi of the Regional Industrial Location Research Institute.

Professor Lee Youngseong, presenting on "Implementation Plans and Future Tasks for Attracting the Peace Economy Special Zone to Paju," stated, "If approximately 3.5 million pyeong of the Peace Economy Special Zone is established in Paju and inter-Korean cooperation resumes, the per capita Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) of Paju is expected to increase from about 50 million won to about 100 million won." He further projected, "For South Korea as a whole, the economic ripple effect would be twice as large as that."

During the subsequent discussion, Professor Lee Wonbin emphasized, "The Peace Economy Special Zone will become a new driving force not only for the development of Paju but also for revitalizing South Korea's stagnant economic growth rate." He added, "We need to seek ways to maximize the synergistic effect with the Paju Free Economic Zone, which was selected as an additional candidate site in April."

Center Director Cho Seongtaek of the Gyeonggi Research Institute stated, "The Peace Economy Special Zone is more than just an industrial complex; it is the starting point for northern Gyeonggi Province to become a peace economy zone on the Korean Peninsula." He suggested, "To attract businesses, which is the key to the success of the Peace Economy Special Zone, regulatory rationalization and institutional improvements are necessary."

Kim Kyungil, mayor of Paju City, is delivering a greeting at the "Paju Peace Economic Zone Citizen Symposium" held on the 24th to promote public consensus and gather opinions on the Peace Economic Zone. Provided by Paju City

President Hong Jinggi of the Regional Industrial Location Research Institute remarked, "If the establishment of the Peace Economy Special Zone leads to full-fledged inter-Korean cooperation, the suppressed growth potential of Paju along the Gyeongui Line (Seoul-Paju-Kaesong-Sinuiju) will be explosively realized." He stressed, "For the success of the Peace Economy Special Zone, it is crucial to thoroughly prepare a phased implementation plan, including contingency measures for potential strains in inter-Korean relations."

Meanwhile, starting with this symposium, Paju City plans to present a blueprint for attracting the Peace Economy Special Zone by sequentially hosting a "Citizen Walkathon for Attracting the Peace Economy Special Zone" in November 2025 and a "Peace Economy Special Zone Vision Declaration Ceremony" in early 2026.

Mayor Kim Kyungil stated, "Paju is the optimal location for the Peace Economy Special Zone, as it will soon benefit from increasingly convenient transportation such as the GTX-A and the Second Metropolitan Ring Expressway, which will open next year, as well as strong connectivity with advanced industrial clusters." He added, "The Peace Economy Special Zone is an opportunity to transform Paju into a self-sustaining city of one million people and a preparation for greater economic growth for South Korea as a whole. Together with Paju's 540,000 citizens, we will do our utmost to attract the Peace Economy Special Zone."

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