Daegu City, Green Light for 7 Major Pledges Including Swift Promotion of Integrated New Airport

Daegu City Hall.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yeo Jong-gu] Most of President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol's presidential campaign pledges have been included in the national agenda, which is expected to accelerate the fulfillment of these promises.

The 20th Presidential Transition Committee's Special Committee on Regional Balanced Development announced on the 27th the 'Vision for Regional Balanced Development and National Agenda,' which includes 7 major pledges, 15 policy tasks, and 46 detailed tasks.

According to Daegu City, the 7 major pledges are ▲ Prompt promotion of the construction of Daegu-Gyeongbuk Integrated New Airport ▲ Development of 5+1 future new industries and modernization of KTX station areas ▲ Creation of a cultural and artistic hub on the site of Daegu City Hall and the former Gyeongbuk Provincial Office ▲ Modernization of the textile and dyeing industrial complex ▲ Construction of the Dalbit High-Speed Railway and undergrounding of the Gyeongbu Line section in downtown Daegu ▲ Creation of an eco-friendly premium waterfront space along the Kumho River ▲ Diversification of water intake sources in the Nakdong River basin.

The first and largest project among Daegu's pledges, the early construction of the Daegu-Gyeongbuk Integrated New Airport and the industrialization of air logistics, has been reflected in the 76 implementation tasks of the 15 national agenda items presented by the Special Committee on Regional Balanced Development.

The Special Committee on Regional Balanced Development proposed concrete implementation plans such as participation of national public institutions and national funding support for the relocation of the military airport and development of the former site, construction of a large-scale complex new airport and smart air logistics complex to foster an air logistics hub in the central-southern region, and expansion of a wide-area transportation network linked to the new airport to create a hinterland economic zone, thereby securing momentum for project promotion in Daegu.

To shift the paradigm of regional balanced development from central government-led to community-led, a Special Committee on Regional Balanced Development, which was not present in previous transition committees, was newly established.

Since March last year, the city has been steadily preparing large-scale projects essential for Daegu's leap forward in anticipation of the 20th presidential election, and since early this year, it has formed and operated a separate task force to reflect the presidential campaign pledges.

Also, Daegu City has made every effort, including dispatching Kim Dae-young, the policy planning officer with the highest understanding of Daegu's pledges, to the Special Committee on Regional Balanced Development, and on the 21st of last month, Daegu Mayor Kwon Young-jin strongly requested the full reflection of Daegu's pledges during a meeting with President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol.

Mayor Kwon Young-jin of Daegu said, “As a result of the united efforts of Daegu city officials and citizens who worked tirelessly, a foundation has been laid for Daegu's pledges to be faithfully implemented under the Yoon Seok-yeol administration,” and added, “We will do our best to ensure that the core projects responsible for Daegu's future are properly promoted.”