Naju-si Promotes 'Innovation City Season 2'... Establishes Dedicated T/F Team

[Naju=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yuk-bong] Naju City, Jeollanam-do, has formed a dedicated T/F team and is closely monitoring government policy trends in preparation for the so-called ‘Innovation City Season 2,’ which centers on the government’s second phase of relocating public institutions based in the Seoul metropolitan area to local regions.

On the 25th, Kang In-gyu, mayor of Naju City, Jeollanam-do, stated at an executive meeting, “The government is expected to soon materialize the Innovation City Season 2 policy, which has been delayed until now,” and emphasized, “Please focus administrative efforts on preparing a proactive response plan at the city level by closely watching government trends.”

Mayor Kang said, “We need to quickly establish a promotion system for this task,” and instructed, “A TF team involving all departments should be formed to establish a comprehensive promotion roadmap for Innovation City Season 2, including public institutions located in the Seoul metropolitan area and affiliated institutions of those that have already relocated to Innovation Cities, such as Korea Electric Power Corporation.”

This statement by Mayor Kang is due to the expectation that the government’s Innovation City Season 2 policy, which has been under review to alleviate overpopulation in the Seoul metropolitan area and accelerate balanced national development, will rapidly come to the surface.

Along with the Daejeon and Chungnam regions, which were additionally designated as Innovation Cities last October, the 10 local governments overseeing Innovation Cities established during the first phase of Innovation City under the Participatory Government have been persistently advocating for the second relocation of Seoul metropolitan public institutions to local areas.

In August, the National Innovation City Council issued a joint petition, pointing out the risk of local extinction due to overpopulation in the Seoul metropolitan area and intensified competition between regions, strongly demanding the second relocation of about 100 public institutions based in the Seoul metropolitan area to local regions to achieve true balanced national development.

Mayor Kang also participated in the non-face-to-face signing ceremony of the joint petition, urging the prompt implementation of the Innovation City Season 2 policy by stating, “The promotion of Innovation City Season 2 will improve the residential conditions of Innovation Cities created for balanced regional development and promote the mutual growth of original downtowns and surrounding areas.”

Recently, in a meeting with Kim Sa-yeol, chairman of the National Balanced Development Committee at the Seoul Government Complex, Mayor Kang proposed, “It is necessary to additionally relocate public institutions and research/affiliated institutions that can maximize synergy effects in connection with the 16 public institutions in the energy, agriculture & life sciences, information & communication, and culture & arts sectors that were relocated in the first phase to Naju Innovation City.”

Along with forming the dedicated T/F team, the city will once again mobilize the capabilities of the public, private, and government sectors based on the achievements and experiences of attracting national projects such as Innovation City Season 1, Korea Energy Engineering University, and national large-scale research facilities.

Mayor Kang said, “We will form a public-private support committee including experts from various fields to provide advice on the plan and strengthen execution capabilities,” and added, “Through cooperation with relocated institutions such as KEPCO, which settled in Innovation City earlier, we will actively promote the relocation of not only public institutions in the Seoul metropolitan area but also affiliated and subsidiary institutions of relocated organizations.”

Meanwhile, Naju Bitgaram Innovation City is home to a total of 16 public institutions, including four energy-related institutions such as Korea Electric Power Corporation, five agriculture and life science institutions such as Korea Rural Community Corporation, four information and communication institutions such as the Postal Service Information Center, and three culture and arts institutions such as the Korea Creative Content Agency.

Naju=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yuk-bong bong2910@asiae.co.kr