Governor Kim Kyung-soo "Spoke with new Busan Mayor Park Hyung-jun, resolved uncertainties about the Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam Megacity"

Megacity, Emphasis on Promoting Government Policy and Strategy Focused on Four Major Hub Cities

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Saeyan] Kim Kyung-soo, Governor of Gyeongnam Province, said on the 8th, "The uncertainty in the process of promoting the Bu-Ul-Gyeong (Southeast region) Megacity has been resolved through the by-election," and urged, "Please accelerate the cooperation projects between Gyeongnam, Busan, and Bu-Ul-Gyeong."

At the 'Monthly Strategy Meeting' on the same day, Governor Kim said, "Now that the vacancy of the Busan mayor has been filled, let's push forward so that cooperative projects including Gadeok New Airport and the Northeast Asia logistics platform can gain full momentum."

That morning, Governor Kim congratulated newly appointed Busan Mayor Park Hyung-joon by phone and introduced the conversation, saying, "We agreed to cooperate together to build the Bu-Ul-Gyeong Megacity with Mayor Park."

Mayor Park also stated in his inaugural speech, "I will pursue bipartisan cooperation on the task of Gadeokdo New Airport." Last November, while preparing to run for office, he expressed agreement and welcome on social media regarding Governor Kim's proposal for 'Gyeongnam-Busan administrative integration.'

Governor Kim emphasized two points: 'government-level development strategization' and 'a megacity construction strategy centered on four hub cities.'

First, he said, "The Bu-Ul-Gyeong Megacity is a strategy to establish four major zones centered on four hub cities: the Busan area, the Ulsan area, the eastern Gyeongnam area centered on Changwon, and the western Gyeongnam area centered on Jinju," and emphasized, "Please clearly define the role of the Bu-Ul-Gyeong Megacity in western Gyeongnam, centered on Jinju and the innovation city." This is interpreted as a statement to dismiss concerns about the marginalization of western Gyeongnam in the megacity promotion raised by some.

He also diagnosed, "Last year, the net outflow of young people in their 20s and 30s from Gyeongnam exceeded 18,000," and added, "It is necessary to establish mid- to long-term and fundamental measures to achieve 'zero net youth outflow' within the next five years."

Governor Kim, wary of the recent cluster infection outbreak originating from entertainment establishments in the Busan area, urged, "The public and private sectors should jointly cooperate to actively establish measures that can show actual effects on the ground, and thoroughly ensure that the vaccination, the final hurdle in overcoming COVID-19, proceeds smoothly."