Changwon Special Mayor Hong Nam-pyo Announces "Innovation Strategy Leveraging Changwon's Strengths and Attractions"

Changwon Special City in Gyeongnam announced on the 22nd that Mayor Hong Nam-pyo was specially invited as a keynote speaker at the 2024 Korean Association for Local Government Studies Summer Conference held in Gyeongju, where he gave a presentation on the theme of "Development of Local Autonomy through Policy Learning."

Mayor Hong Nampyo Presents Changwon City's Innovation Strategy at the Korean Local Government Association Academic Conference.

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The Korean Association for Local Government Studies, which organized the event, explained that Changwon is the first autonomous integrated city in Korea and the only special city outside the capital region, representing local autonomy in Korea. Mayor Hong was specially invited as the conference's first keynote speaker, as he is recognized as an innovative strategist.

During his lecture, Mayor Hong emphasized that as the concentration of population and capital in the capital region accelerates, local cities must adopt innovative strategies based on accurate diagnoses to survive.

He explained that when the eighth popularly elected administration of Changwon began, the city was losing vitality and growth was stagnating due to the lack of response to the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the impact of nuclear phase-out policies. However, by leveraging Changwon's unique strengths and attractions, the city was able to lay the foundation for another leap forward through innovative strategies.

In particular, Mayor Hong presented not only the process of deriving innovative strategies through SWOT analysis but also shared real-life examples of current initiatives, drawing strong empathy and positive responses from the attendees.

Mayor Hong highlighted Changwon's strengths as Korea's central city for the machinery industry and its abundant marine resources, while identifying the depletion of university innovation capacity and debts exceeding 1 trillion won as weaknesses. Externally, he analyzed that the reorganization of global supply chains due to the US-China hegemony war and changes in government policy present opportunities, while the lack of growth engines and the prolonged stagnation of large-scale projects remain as threats.

The first strategy to overcome these challenges is the SO strategy, which leverages Changwon's strengths to seize opportunities. To advance Changwon's core industries, a new national industrial complex for defense and nuclear fusion will be established, and the 50-year-old Changwon National Industrial Complex will be completely renovated by integrating digital and cultural elements to create a sustainable industrial park. In addition, the city plans to diversify its industrial structure by fostering future industries such as medical and bio sectors, and to elevate its abundant tourism resources to the level of an industry, aiming to improve accessibility for citizens and restore the public value of the sea.

The second strategy is the ST strategy, which utilizes strengths to respond to current threats. By constructing a high-speed railway connecting the capital region, Changwon, and Gadeokdo New Airport, the city will strengthen internal and external networks. It is also pursuing a paradigm shift in urban space to meet future urban demands by completely overhauling district-level plans based on the industrialization era and rationally adjusting development-restricted areas.

The third strategy is the WO strategy, which maximizes opportunities by compensating for Changwon's weaknesses. In line with the government's policy to expand medical school quotas, the city will actively pursue the establishment of a new medical school and focus on attracting glocal universities and building a talent training and utilization system to strengthen regional innovation capacity. In addition, the city plans to accelerate the enactment of the Special Act on Special Cities to lay the foundation for substantive local autonomy.

Lastly, the WT strategy enables Changwon to respond swiftly to threats it faces. By applying the BSC (Balanced Scorecard) method, which considers financial, customer, process, and learning and growth perspectives used in companies, the city has implemented three major innovations in finance, organization, and operations. Large-scale projects that determine the city's future are being normalized one by one in accordance with laws and principles. Furthermore, the city has shifted its focus from quantitative to qualitative acquisition of national funds by establishing four major principles, brightening Changwon's future with hope.

An official who attended the lecture said, "Changwon Special City's innovation strategies have great value not only academically but also as practical, case-based exemplary policies," adding, "As Changwon aspires to be the central city of Northeast Asia, I look forward to seeing it grow as a role model leading the era of local autonomy."

Mayor Hong said, "Through Changwon's unique change and innovation, we will leap forward as a hub of the two major regions, beyond the single-pole system of the capital region. Please join your strength and wisdom to help enact the Special Act on Special Cities so that we can usher in a true era of local autonomy, not just in name only," he urged the members of the Korean Association for Local Government Studies.

Meanwhile, this Korean Association for Local Government Studies academic conference is one of the largest in the field of local autonomy, held over two days from the 22nd to the 23rd, with about 500 participants sharing innovative cases and seeking strategies for the sustainable development of local regions.

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