Changwon Mayoral Candidate Jo Myeongrae: "Integrated City Hall to Masanhayang New City"

Jomyeongrae, the preliminary candidate for the People Power Party in the Changwon Special City mayoral race in Gyeongnam, has announced a policy proposal to relocate the Changwon City Hall to Masanhayang New City.

On March 5, at a press conference held at the city hall press center, Candidate Jo stated, "I will move the integrated city hall to Masanhayang New City to highlight the unique characteristics of each region."

He further emphasized, "The relocation of the integrated city hall is not simply about moving a building; it is a core strategy to balance Masan, Changwon, and Jinhae and to revitalize Changwon City."

He pointed out, "At the time of integration in 2010, Changwon Special City had a population of 1.08 million, but as of 2024, the number has fallen below one million to 999,858. Over the past 10 years, the youth population has decreased by 27.6%, and due to the failure to achieve balance among the three regions, the vitality of Masan and Jinhae has disappeared."

He continued, "This is not simply a crisis limited to Masan and Jinhae. If Masan and Jinhae fall, the damage will be felt directly by Changwon as well."

Jongmyongrae, a preliminary candidate for the People Power Party for Changwon Special City Mayor in Gyeongnam, is announcing a policy to relocate the Changwon City Hall to Masan Marine New City. Photo by Se-ryeong Lee

Candidate Jo stated, "At the time, the Changwon Special City Integration Preparation Committee promised to designate Masan as the location of the city hall, but political interests broke the trust with the citizens. Now is the time to restore that trust."

He added, "Masanhayang New City is a large-scale artificial island with 340.3 billion won of public funds invested, but it is at risk of becoming a white elephant due to repeated failures of private sector bids and legal disputes. By establishing city hall as a clear public anchor, I will drive development and create a new landmark."

He also promised, "Seongsan-gu, where the current city hall is located, will maintain a second city hall focused on business support work, and a comprehensive revision of the district unit plan will be implemented. Through full-scale revision of the district unit plan and the use of the public contribution system, I will legalize and redevelop areas with mismatched uses and actively promote reconstruction to develop Seongsan-gu into an area like Gangnam."

Additionally, he said, "Concerns about inconvenience due to city hall being farther away from the Changwon region will be addressed with a digital twin civil service center. We will establish a public discussion committee for the relocation of the integrated city hall to Masan, and transparently identify the costs and social ripple effects involved in this process."

Candidate Jo stated, "I will restore the promise made with citizens that was lost in 2010 and lay the foundation for the residents of all three regions to love and live in their unique localities, moving beyond mere words of integration."

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