Ha Byeongpil, Acting Governor of Gyeongnam, "Request for Government-Level National Balanced Development Strategy through Ultra-Wide Area Cooperation"

Opening Ceremony of Bu-Ul-Gyeong Promotion Team Held in Ulsan on the 29th, One Step Closer to Bu-Ul-Gyeong Mega City

Ha Byung-pil, Acting Officer.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Saeyan] The joint promotion team for the Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam (Bu-Ul-Gyeong) Special Local Government held an opening ceremony on the afternoon of the 29th at the Ulsan Exhibition & Convention Center and signed an agreement to establish the special local government.

The opening ceremony was attended by Jeon Hae-cheol, Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, Kim Sa-yeol, Chairman of the National Balanced Development Committee, Kim Soon-eun, Chairman of the Autonomy and Decentralization Committee, local district members of the National Assembly, Bu-Ul-Gyeong provincial governors, and chairpersons of provincial councils.

In his greeting, Minister Jeon Hae-cheol said, "The Bu-Ul-Gyeong Mega City is expected not only to dramatically enhance regional competitiveness but also to establish itself as a new model of national balanced development where the metropolitan area and non-metropolitan areas coexist." He added, "The Ministry of the Interior and Safety, as a partner of the Bu-Ul-Gyeong Mega City, will maintain constant communication with the joint promotion team and spare no support."

Ha Byung-pil, Acting Governor of Gyeongnam Province, stated, "The Bu-Ul-Gyeong Mega City is being promoted to achieve win-win development between the metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas, sustainable growth of the Republic of Korea, and enhancement of competitiveness. We ask the central government to provide stronger support."

He also conveyed specific requests such as bold financial support and delegation of authority, transportation infrastructure for a unified living zone, and industrial support for forming a joint economic zone.

The joint promotion team received temporary approval from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety in June to establish the 'Bu-Ul-Gyeong Special Local Government.'

This month, Bu-Ul-Gyeong dispatched a total of 25 employees to form the joint promotion team organization consisting of 1 bureau, 2 divisions, and 6 teams, and began operations.

They will promote all necessary tasks for establishing the special local government, including formulating the basic plan for the special local government, aiming to launch the first-ever special local government nationwide next year.

The Bu-Ul-Gyeong provincial governors and chairpersons of provincial councils signed an agreement promising mutual cooperation and support for enacting regulations, revising ordinances and rules, administrative and financial support, forming consensus among residents, and jointly proposing national support.

With the joint promotion team officially starting its activities, it is expected that the realization of the 'Bu-Ul-Gyeong Mega City' will move one step closer.

So far, Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam have been promoting the establishment of the Bu-Ul-Gyeong Mega City as a new national balanced development model to overcome the metropolitan area’s one-pole system and secure regional growth engines in line with the times.

The strategy is to build a network centered on four hub cities?Busan, Ulsan, Changwon, and Jinju?connecting nearby small and medium-sized cities and rural fishing villages to create a single community.

Bu-Ul-Gyeong aims to increase its population to 10 million by 2040 through ultra-wide-area cooperation and raise its Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) from the current 275 trillion won to 491 trillion won.

First, they plan to establish a metropolitan public transportation network targeting a one-hour living zone and realize a metropolitan food community through regional food production.

The government also plans to actively support the successful promotion of the Bu-Ul-Gyeong Mega City.

To support discussions on ultra-wide-area cooperation in the region, the government has been operating the 'Mega City Support Pan-Ministerial Task Force (TF)' since April 27.

The pan-ministerial TF plans to fully collect opinions from local governments and prepare a comprehensive plan by the end of October.