[6.3 Election] Candidate Kim Yanghoon Unveils 'Microscope-Level Pledges' for Wando Residents’ Everyday Lives

Former Wando County Council Chairman: "People Are the Region's Greatest Strength, Not Party Banners"

Presents Detailed, Tailored Development Blueprints for Each of the Eight Towns and Townships

Amid the growing threat of local depopulation, Wando County has seen the emergence of "microscope-level pledges" that directly address residents’ everyday lives, rather than "showcase-style grand discourses."

Kim Yanghoon, an independent candidate for Jeonnam Provincial Council and former chairman of the Wando County Council, has put forward "Wando people" as the region’s greatest strength instead of relying on a political party banner. He has launched a full-scale campaign to win voter support with tailored blueprints that meticulously reflect the living conditions of the eight towns and townships in the area.

Kim Yanghoon, a candidate for Jeonnam provincial assembly member and former chairman of the Wando County Council, has presented an ecosystem and tailored blueprint for eight towns and townships, embarking on a full-scale campaign. Photo courtesy of the candidate's team

According to Kim’s campaign on May 11, his pledges focus on creating a sustainable population structure and building a self-reliant economy as a response to population decline. The three main visions are: ▲ a region where children, youth, and women choose to stay; ▲ Wando as a comfortable place for the elderly; ▲ locally driven politics and broad interregional cooperation. To achieve these, he promises to expand educational and care infrastructure, strengthen the foundation for youth settlement, and significantly increase visiting care and mobile medical services for the island areas.

He especially emphasized the need to proactively respond to structural changes at the regional level, such as the proposed Jeonnam-Gwangju administrative integration, aiming to create a "Wando that does not wait for the central government." He aspires to directly link the needs of towns and townships to broad policy decisions so that the interests of island and marine areas are genuinely reflected in the budget.

His "region-specific core pledges," reflecting the issues of all eight towns and townships, are also drawing attention. The main projects include: ▲ Geumil-eup (strengthening the seaweed and abalone industries, transitioning maritime transport to public services); ▲ Gunoe-myeon (developing stay-type ecological tourism linked to the National Subtropical Arboretum); ▲ Sinji-myeon (year-round tourism utilizing Myeongsashimni Beach and marine wellness, and customized job creation); ▲ Gogeum-myeon (storytelling of Admiral Yi Sun-sin’s history, balanced development of agriculture, fisheries, and livestock industries); ▲ Yaksan-myeon (specializing in black goat industries and activating coastal healing forests); ▲ Cheongsan-myeon (upgrading the slow city concept and improving medical access); ▲ Geumdang-myeon (reorganizing islands around residential centers, creating islands for youth and returnees to settle); ▲ Saengil-myeon (stabilizing fishery income and strengthening transportation and medical safety nets).

These pledges go beyond simply developing tourist attractions, placing a strong emphasis on improving the "living conditions" of residents, such as the maintenance of village roads and water and sewage systems. Kim Yanghoon’s experience, gained from traveling across Wando as county council chairman, is fully reflected in his policy proposals. Rather than focusing on large-scale civil engineering projects or empty promises, he has chosen to concentrate on practical, everyday measures such as expanding mobile medical services and improving farm roads—initiatives that have a direct impact on residents’ lives.

The attention is on how much these detailed, field-oriented commitments—rooted in the fundamental duties of a regional councilor—will resonate with voters, beyond the influence of political party banners.

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