Governor Lee Cheolwoo: "We Will Change Korea with the Power of Gyeongbuk"... Briefing on Two Years of Provincial Achievements

On the 1st, Governor Lee Cheolwoo of North Gyeongsang Province shared his reflections on the past two years at a media briefing on the achievements of the first half of the 8th popularly elected administration, held at Hwa Baek Dang in the provincial government office. He said, "For those who look ahead to a new era and devote themselves wholeheartedly to making it a reality, nothing is impossible."

Governor Lee stated, "The past two years have been a time when all public officials did their utmost to foresee the future of a new Republic of Korea and North Gyeongsang Province, leading various policy experiments to create a world where future generations can thrive."

Lee Cheolwoo, Governor of Gyeongbuk Province, is briefing on the administrative achievements of the first half of the 8th local government term.

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On this day, Governor Lee Cheolwoo highlighted the major achievements of North Gyeongsang Province, including the transformation of its industry, agriculture, and education through innovation, the North Gyeongsang Initiative that led the era of local autonomy in Korea, the highest number of policy special zones designated, and the successful bid to host APEC in Gyeongju.

The 8th popularly elected administration under Lee Cheolwoo can be summarized by the word "innovation." On June 20, President Yoon Suk-yeol, during a public forum on livelihood issues in North Gyeongsang Province, also acknowledged Governor Lee's innovative mindset and leadership in driving policy with diverse ideas.

Over the past two years, the industrial landscape of North Gyeongsang Province, once dominated by steel and electronics, has undergone a major shift to become a hub for national strategic industries such as semiconductors, batteries, and bio. Rural villages, once facing extinction as young people left, have seen incomes triple through the "Innovative Agricultural Town" policy under the slogan, "Landowners become shareholders, and farming becomes advanced mechanization."

Local universities, once said to be doomed in the order cherry blossoms bloom, have instead received delegated authority for university development from the Ministry of Education, resulting in the largest number of designations for Glocal Universities and Education Development Special Zones, as well as the successful merger of Andong National University and Gyeongbuk Provincial University through large-scale innovation in the industry-academia-government alliance represented by the K-U City initiative.

Such bold and challenging policy innovation led to the successful bid to host the APEC Summit in Gyeongju, the only basic local government to do so.

Governor Lee was the first to visit President Yoon Suk-yeol during his transition period, advocating for a "Local Era" to prepare Korea for a leap to a top-tier nation by overcoming the dominance of the capital region. He made "A Local Era Where Life is Good Anywhere" a national agenda item, and proposed the establishment of a Regional Balanced Development Task Force to the transition committee, which was subsequently realized.

Additionally, at the North Gyeongsang Province public forum, President Yoon stated, "Not only the president but also ministers and vice ministers receive a lot of pressure from Governor Lee with various ideas," and expressed his intention to strengthen support for successful local policies like those in North Gyeongsang Province.

The 8th popularly elected administration in North Gyeongsang Province has also been reborn as the capital of Korea's strategic industries. North Gyeongsang is the only region in the country to have secured all three major specialized complexes: semiconductors, batteries, and bio. In particular, the semiconductor complex is the only one designated outside the capital area, restoring the province's status as the birthplace of Korea's semiconductor industry.

Pohang's battery specialized complex was designated following the successful attraction of the Battery Regulation-Free Special Zone during the 7th administration, backed by over 10 trillion won in investments. Recently, Andong and Pohang were jointly designated as a bio-specialized complex, achieving a triple crown.

In the briefing, Governor Lee emphasized, "The simultaneous designation of the three major specialized complexes signifies North Gyeongsang's rebirth as a platform for future growth among the world's top 10 economies."

Furthermore, with the final approval of the Advanced Bearing National Industrial Complex in Yeongju and the designation of Andong's Bio-Life National Industrial Complex as a candidate site, the era of national industrial complexes has begun in the northern region. Uiseong, as an airport city, has expanded its industrial functions by attracting the Cell Culture Regulation-Free Special Zone.

The results of new national industrial complex designations during the 8th administration are even more remarkable. North Gyeongsang has simultaneously been designated as a candidate site for the Andong Bio-Life, Uljin Nuclear Hydrogen, and Gyeongju SMR National Industrial Complexes, with a total area equivalent to 800 soccer fields.

Not only have new national industrial complexes been designated, but Glocal University status, Education Development Special Zones, and Cultural Special Zones have also been attracted during the 8th administration, raising expectations among residents in the northern region centered on Andong and Yecheon.

Lee Cheolwoo, governor of Gyeongbuk Province, who succeeded in attracting the 'APEC Summit' to Gyeongju, is cheering with Joo Nakyoung, mayor of Gyeongju.

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The East Coast of North Gyeongsang is also overcoming the shadow of nuclear phase-out and being reborn as a national energy industry belt. As a result of efforts to overcome the limitation of being a cluster with only nuclear power plants and no industry, Uljin's Nuclear Hydrogen and Gyeongju's SMR National Industrial Complexes have been attracted, and Pohang has secured a hydrogen cluster with over 180 billion won in investments, transforming into a national energy cluster. The Uljin Nuclear Hydrogen National Industrial Complex has even been exempted from preliminary feasibility studies, moving rapidly toward success.

Meanwhile, at the public forum on June 20, President Yoon Suk-yeol announced plans to create an 800 billion won hydrogen economy industry belt, aiming to develop North Gyeongsang into an advanced energy hub.

On this day, Governor Lee also announced the results of the agricultural transformation that tripled incomes. The nation's first Innovative Agricultural Towns were launched in Mungyeong, Yecheon, and Gumi. In Yeongsun Village, Mungyeong, nearly 80 households entrusted their farmland to an agricultural corporation and participated as shareholders.

The agricultural corporation jointly cultivated soybeans, potatoes, and onions instead of rice on nearly 100 hectares of fields, resulting in income increasing from 800 million won (when only rice was grown) to 2.6 billion won, more than tripling.

Senior landowners are now freed from hard farm labor and receive guaranteed income as shareholders, while young people can find new hope in rural areas as salaried farmers, transforming these villages into prosperous communities. At the June public forum, President Yoon also recognized the achievements, promising to expand North Gyeongsang's successful Innovative Agricultural Town model nationwide.

At the Talent Development Strategy Meeting held in Gumi in February last year, President Yoon declared the delegation of university development authority to local governments and announced seven pilot regions, including North Gyeongsang. The province immediately launched the K-U City project, where universities and companies collaborate on R&D and job creation, with local governments providing settlement conditions, and promoted the "One City/County, One University" policy.

Under the motto "We will save our universities ourselves," North Gyeongsang strongly pushed for the merger of Andong National University and the Provincial University, creating the nation's first integrated national and public university, which became a benchmark for other local governments. The province also achieved the designation of seven Glocal Universities and eight Education Development Special Zones.

Governor Lee Cheolwoo stated, "Just as the national passion for education built today's Korea, I am confident that the efforts for change and innovation starting from education can also revitalize local regions."

Governor Lee also emphasized, "Local regions must become laboratories for bold national reforms, and by further developing government policies into national agendas, these should be spread nationwide." He made this statement while noting that policies proposed by North Gyeongsang over the past two years have been developed into national policy special zones.

In fact, North Gyeongsang has recorded the highest number of policy special zone designations in the country over the past two years. The province has attracted 34 various policy special zones, including new national industrial complexes the size of 800 soccer fields, eight Education Development Special Zones, and the largest area for Opportunity Development Special Zones nationwide.

Experts attribute North Gyeongsang's record number of policy special zones to the successful experiences accumulated since the 7th administration, such as the Battery Special Zone that created a 10 trillion won investment miracle, efforts to reflect the highest number of regional pledges (99) in the Presidential Transition Committee, and the establishment of expert networks through special lectures and the proposal of diverse ideas like the Opportunity Development Special Zone to the government.

Governor Lee Cheolwoo stressed, "To usher in a true Local Era, we must end the era of looking only to the central government and making appeals."

While serving as chair of the 8th Provincial Governors' Association, he established the nation's only Local Era Policy Bureau, led creative autonomy and decentralization policies such as the delegation of education development authority and a wide-area visa system for foreigners, and emphasized that local governments, who know the field best, must tackle and solve national challenges for local autonomy to mature.

Finally, Governor Lee concluded, "The size of your thoughts determines the size of your future," and stated, "In line with the slogan 'With the Power of North Gyeongsang, a New Republic of Korea,' we will continue to prove our capabilities with bigger ideas and innovation, and change Korea with the power of our region."

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