[On Site] "I Didn't See Any Reporters on the First Floor..." Kim Youngrok Becomes the First Preliminary Candidate for Integrated Special Mayor

Registered as Preliminary Candidate at Gwangju Election Commission
Takes First Step in Integrated Mayoral Race

On the afternoon of March 9, at the preliminary candidate registration office on the 4th floor of the Gwangju Seo-gu Gwangju Election Commission, journalists and Election Commission officials were already in place ahead of the registration for preliminary candidates for the Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special Mayor election.

A short while later, Kim Youngrok, Governor of Jeonnam Province, entered the registration office. Looking around, Governor Kim joked, "When I entered on the first floor, I didn't see any journalists, but I see you were all here," and laughed. It was a brief joke that eased the tense atmosphere in the registration room.

On the afternoon of the 9th, Youngrok Kim, Governor of Jeonnam Province, is proceeding with the registration process as a preliminary candidate for the special integrated mayor of Jeonnam and Gwangju at the Gwangju Seo-gu Election Commission. Photo by Bohyun Song

Governor Kim sat at the registration desk and submitted the prepared documents, proceeding with the preliminary candidate registration process. As he handed over the documents, he said, "I will make sure to win the Jeonnam-Gwangju integrated election and repay the citizens of the city and province."

On one side of the registration office, a sign was set up providing guidance for the 'Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special Mayor' preliminary candidate registration.

After completing the registration process, Governor Kim held up the registration confirmation certificate and gave a thumbs-up.

On this day, Governor Kim completed his registration as a preliminary candidate for the Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special Mayor at the Gwangju Election Commission, taking his first step in the integrated mayoral election campaign.

On the afternoon of the 9th, at the Jeonnam-Gwangju Integration Special Mayor Preliminary Candidate Registration Office held at the Gwangju Seo-gu Gwangju Election Commission, the press is taking photos of Kim Youngrok, the Governor of Jeonnam Province, registering as a candidate. Photo by Bohyun Song

In the subsequent Q&A session, Governor Kim stated, "Gwangju and Jeonnam have become one, achieving the nation's first metropolitan city-province integration." He continued, "The inaugural integrated special mayor will play a crucial role in managing confusion during the integration process and creating new engines for future growth."

He also said, "We have established a new industrial foundation in Jeonnam, which was centered on agriculture and fisheries, by integrating advanced industries such as artificial intelligence (AI) and energy." He added, "With the integration of Gwangju and Jeonnam, we can create new growth engines."

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