Mayor Lee Yong-seop Reflects Public Medical Center Preliminary Feasibility Exemption at National Governors Association General Assembly

Lee Yong-seop, Mayor of Gwangju Metropolitan City, is speaking about the joint statement agenda at the 46th Korea Council of Governors General Assembly held via video on the afternoon of the 6th. Photo by Gwangju Metropolitan City

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] On the afternoon of the 6th, at the 46th National Governors Association General Assembly held via video conference, Lee Yong-seop, Mayor of Gwangju Metropolitan City, proposed ▲ exemption from preliminary feasibility studies when establishing regional public medical centers ▲ corporate tax reductions for domestic and foreign companies investing in advanced technologies, advanced products, and key specialized industries within economic free zones, which were incorporated into the joint statement.

Mayor Lee emphasized, “Among all cities and provinces nationwide, only Gwangju, Daejeon, and Ulsan lack local medical centers. To respond quickly and systematically to crises such as infectious diseases, it is urgent to expand public personnel and facilities.”

He particularly stressed, “If the establishment of public medical facilities undergoes preliminary feasibility studies that prioritize economic efficiency, there is a risk of delays in project implementation, so exemption from such studies is necessary for prompt project advancement.”

Regarding economic free zones, Mayor Lee stated, “Since the corporate tax reduction system was abolished in 2019, there has been a sharp decline in foreign investment attraction, causing difficulties nationwide. Differentiated incentives are needed to attract companies,” and proposed, “Corporate tax reductions are necessary for domestic and foreign companies investing in advanced technologies, advanced products, and key specialized industries within economic free zones.”

Mayor Lee Yong-seop’s proposals were included in the “Joint Statement of the Governors of the Republic of Korea for Strengthening Regional Public Healthcare Systems and Revitalizing Regional Economies” after obtaining the consent of the governors.

With the joint statement of the governors reflected in government policy, it is expected that momentum will build for the establishment of public medical centers and the revitalization of economic free zones, which are key issues for Gwangju City.

At this general assembly, in addition to adopting the joint statement, reports on major issues such as overcoming COVID-19 and promoting regional vitality recovery, legislative promotion related to local decentralization in the 21st National Assembly, promotion and response to the second phase of fiscal decentralization, regional-linked university cooperation and function transfer plans, functional reorganization of six special local administrative agencies, and joint response to local extinction by the four major local councils were discussed along with future response plans.