Governor Lee Cheol-woo: "Bold Vision Needed for Daegu-Gyeongbuk Integration to Compete Globally"

Special Lecture for Employees on the 3rd... Emphasizing Research-Centered Innovative Provincial Government

Governor Lee Cheol-woo of Gyeongbuk Province giving a special lecture to employees on the 3rd.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Park Dong-wook] Lee Cheol-woo, Governor of Gyeongbuk Province, emphasized regarding the discussions on the administrative integration of Daegu and Gyeongbuk, "We must pursue bold plans that compete globally to reverse the concentration in the Seoul metropolitan area and the outflow of youth."

On the 3rd, during a special lecture for provincial government officials, Governor Lee stated, "By connecting local communities centered around a revolutionary airport equipped with advanced technology to improve accessibility and stepping onto the global stage as a global economic zone, we must create opportunities for young people to move forward as the center of Korea once again."

He pointed out that the population of Daegu and Gyeongbuk is comparable to that of Nordic countries, the area is similar to Israel, and the total production is on par with countries ranked 50th to 60th globally, so they should not underestimate themselves but undertake bold structural reforms to unlock their potential.

During the 90-minute special lecture titled "Looking Back at History to Open the Path to the Future," Governor Lee urged the public officials to understand where Daegu and Gyeongbuk stand and where and how they should go by traversing world history and Korean history, calling for changes in the public service community as the protagonists who will open the future.

Governor Lee diagnosed that although Daegu and Gyeongbuk were historically central regions that first unified the Korean Peninsula and protected and enriched the country through the Hwarang, Seonbi, patriotic, and Saemaul spirits, they have faced difficult times over the past 30 years due to failure in globalization.

He also presented specific figures, stating that the population of Daegu and Gyeongbuk at liberation accounted for 16% of the national total, and to recover this, it must reach 8 million people, and to restore the economic share of 1988, the regional gross production must increase by 70 trillion won compared to now.

Governor Lee also emphasized the service spirit of public officials. He introduced a case where a public official from Alabama, USA, accompanied an automotive parts company that had entered Gyeongbuk three times over a six-hour distance to introduce new clients, urging that public officials must have a service spirit that solves the difficulties of the residents.