Mokpo City Finalizes Candidate Site for 'Korea Island Promotion Agency'

Competition Among 6 Cities Including Jung-gu, Incheon and Boryeong-si

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Jeong Seunghyun] Mokpo City, Jeonnam, has been finally selected as the candidate site for the ‘Korea Island Promotion Agency,’ which will serve as the control tower for South Korea’s island policy.

Mokpo City announced on the 14th that it has been confirmed as the final candidate site for the Korea Island Promotion Agency.

Six local governments participated in the bid for the Island Promotion Agency, including Mokpo City, Jung-gu and Ongjin-gun in Incheon, Boryeong City in Chungnam, and Tongyeong City and Namhae-gun in Gyeongnam.

The city has devoted its utmost efforts to attracting the Korea Island Promotion Agency.

Kim Jongsik, Mayor of Mokpo, personally presented at the final face-to-face evaluation held at the Government Sejong Complex the day before, explaining the city’s justification for hosting the agency.

Additionally, the city emphasized that it is the optimal location by leading the establishment of the Island Promotion Agency and building related research foundations, while local members of the National Assembly proposed the legislative bill to establish the Korea Island Promotion Agency.

Moreover, Mokpo was the first in the world to propose the establishment of Island Day on August 8, and successfully held the first Island Day commemorative event in 2019.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety is reportedly planning to launch the Island Promotion Agency around August through the establishment of a foundation next month and recruitment of personnel in July.

The Island Promotion Agency will perform roles such as island-related investigation, research and evaluation, policy support, and development planning, and will be composed of 3 offices, 8 teams, and about 50 personnel.