Emphasis on Incorporating Residents' Opinions on Efficiency of Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam Economic Alliance and Clean Water Supply
Park Wan-su, Governor of Gyeongnam Province, mentioning the consolidation of similar projects in the province at the Department and Headquarters Directors' Meeting.
[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Seryeong] Park Wansu, Governor of Gyeongnam Province, instructed the consolidation of similar projects within the province at the heads of departments and bureaus meeting on the 17th.
Governor Park stated, “Due to the contraction in real estate transactions, the financial situation next year is expected to be difficult,” and emphasized, “We can no longer allocate budgets on an ad hoc basis according to the demands of cities, counties, or organizations.”
He continued, “Similar projects should be boldly consolidated, and efforts should focus on discovering and promoting projects unique to Gyeongnam Province.”
Regarding the dissolution of the Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam (Bu-Ul-Gyeong) Special Union, which emerged as a major issue during the National Assembly audit on the 16th, he said, “The Special Union involves combining projects from each city and province, resulting in enormous costs and manpower.”
He explained, “The ultra-wide economic alliance only handles joint tasks, and projects that need to be done separately are handled by each city and province, allowing for a much smaller organization and increased efficiency.”
He also dismissed claims that the Special Union was established to erase the achievements of his predecessor, stating, “The Special Union was formed under an acting authority system just one month before the local elections, so the claim that it was to erase the predecessor’s achievements is not true.”
Governor Park also addressed the drinking water issue requested by the People Power Party’s Busan lawmakers during the audit.
At the audit, the lawmakers said, “Carcinogens have been detected in the Nakdong River, Busan’s only water source, and contamination accidents occur every year, resulting in a grade 6 water quality that cannot even be used for industrial water in summer. Even if 900,000 tons are drawn from Hapcheon and Changnyeong (450,000 tons each), Gyeongnam has priority usage rights and this can prevent agricultural and water shortages, so please share some water.”
In response, Governor Park said, “We are trying to proceed with the water supply process by discussing with residents of the water intake areas and involving a public-private consultative body including Busan City, Gyeongnam Province, Hapcheon County, Changnyeong County, and the Nakdong River Basin Environmental Office to accommodate the demands of the water intake residents.”
At the heads of departments meeting, Governor Park ordered, “Supplying clean water requires actively persuading the residents in the water intake areas and conveying their opinions to the Ministry of Environment, so the province must take a proactive stance to ensure the project is properly implemented.”
On the same day, Governor Park pointed out that there are no pediatric and adolescent hospitals in seven cities and counties within the province, and nine cities and counties lack obstetrics departments capable of delivery.
He urged, “Besides providing childbirth incentives as a simple measure, expand pediatric and adolescent departments and obstetrics departments with delivery rooms, establish public postpartum care centers, and develop comprehensive measures for medically vulnerable areas to be promoted together with cities and counties.”
He also ordered the creation of concrete project programs together with cities and counties for fostering core industries such as defense parts, nuclear power projects, and aerospace industries, including the establishment of specialized complexes for core parts, nuclear power industrial complexes, and the development of core parts technology, and to actively propose these to the central government.
The recent messenger outage incident that occurred last weekend was also brought up during the meeting.
Governor Park said, “Most administrative services for residents are carried out through digital systems,” and added, “It is necessary to inspect the digital systems and check whether there are safety measures in place to substitute in case of similar incidents.”
In preparation for the upcoming winter season, he requested, “Please inspect livestock quarantine measures against foot-and-mouth disease and avian influenza, and create new policies to boost the morale of hardworking employees and provide them with benefits.”
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