Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City’s Global Leap... Bid to Host the 2028 G20 Summit

Governor Kim Youngrok Launches First Challenge for Global Leap
Unveils G20 Hosting Vision... AI and Energy Transition
Stresses That "The Jeonnam-Gwangju Special City Is the Optimal Venue"

Kim Youngrok, Governor of Jeonnam Province, officially announced on the 11th Jeonnam Province’s vision to host the 2028 G20 Summit as the first great challenge for the global leap of the Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City. Provided by Jeonnam Province

Jeollanam-do has officially announced its vision to host the 2028 G20 Summit as the first great challenge for the global leap of the Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City.

On the 11th, Governor Kim Youngrok of Jeollanam-do stated in the provincial government briefing room, "Hosting the 2028 G20 Summit will be the decisive opportunity for the Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City to leap onto the global stage," as he unveiled the hosting vision. This initiative is a preemptive response to President Lee Jaemyung’s remarks in November last year, when he stressed, "Even if there are infrastructural difficulties, I hope that at least this G20 Summit will be held in a regional city."

Today, the world is facing urgent tasks that concern the survival of humanity, including climate disasters and the energy security crisis, industrial upheaval and inequality triggered by the great AI transformation, and even a shaking of democracy. It is also confronting complex challenges that threaten human survival, such as the climate crisis and energy security, industrial disruption and inequality caused by the great AI transition, and a crisis of democracy.

Governor Kim emphasized, "The fact that the Republic of Korea will serve as the G20 presidency in 2028 means that the international community has high expectations for our role," adding, "The Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City is a region ready to present solutions to the global agenda."

As the rationale for hosting, he pointed out that Gwangju and Jeonnam are cities that have embodied democracy with their very bodies. From the Donghak Peasant Revolution and the Gwangju Student Independence Movement to the May 18 Democratization Movement, layers of lived history have accumulated there, and the great Revolution of Light that fully safeguarded constitutional order also began in Gwangju and Jeonnam. The integrated special city, which has proven the values of democracy, human rights, and peace with its own body, will deliver to world leaders a message that offers powerful answers.

It is also the only city that can present practical solutions for the era of climate crisis and the great energy transition.

Jeollanam-do, based on its 444 GW of renewable energy potential, is playing the role of "the forefront of carbon neutrality in response to the climate crisis." In the face of the global conundrum of the climate crisis, it will become the best stage to present outstanding solutions to world leaders.

It is also a city that is advancing with cutting-edge AI technology and realizing a basic society in which no one is left behind. The National AI Data Center in Gwangju, the National AI Computing Center in Jeollanam-do, and the Global AI Data Center together form the foundation for the integrated special city to emerge as the largest "AI city" in the Asia-Pacific region.

On the basis of abundant renewable energy, it is working to attract a semiconductor cluster for the southern region and is also fostering future high-tech industries such as secondary batteries, physical AI robots, and aerospace. The economic成果 thus generated can be used to greatly expand the basic income at birth and the rural and fishing village basic income that Jeollanam-do is already implementing innovatively with the goal of building a basic society.

Through the G20 Summit, it will also be able to showcase to the world both the roots and the future of K-culture. The charm of Gwangju as the Asian Culture Hub City, the taste of cuisine from the southern provinces, the power of literature proven by Nobel Prize in Literature laureate author Han Kang, and the dynamism of future cultural content such as Suncheon’s K-Disney are all vibrantly alive. It will be the brightest stage to imprint the roots and future of K-culture on the world.

Another strength is the plan to move away from the traditional single-city hosting model and instead hold the summit as a "solidarity-based, distributed conference" linking key hub cities.

The strategy is to utilize as a single stage: the innovative cultural diplomacy spaces centered on Gwangju’s Kim Daejung Convention Center and the Asia Culture Center; the accommodation and tourism infrastructure built in the eastern part of Jeollanam-do through the process of hosting the 2026 Yeosu World Island Expo and COP33; and the practice-oriented conference spaces in the western region based on renewable energy.

Governor Kim Youngrok stated, "We will boldly make up for our shortcomings through innovation and compete on the strength of our advantages by turning them into global agendas," adding, "By hosting the 2028 G20 Summit, we will prove to the world the potential of the Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City."

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