Suncheon Mayor Noh Gwan-gyu Selected as Local Autonomy CEO of the Year

Highly Praised for Removing 282 Utility Poles to Protect Heukdurumi and Creating Suncheonman Global Ecotourism Site

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Heo Seon-sik] Noh Gwan-gyu, former mayor of Suncheon City, Jeollanam-do, was selected on the 8th as the ‘2022 Local Autonomy CEO of the Year’ hosted by the Korea Institute of Public Administration and organized by the Regional Policy Research Forum.

The ‘Local Autonomy CEO of the Year’ award is given by the Korea Institute of Public Administration, a non-profit organization, since 2012 to local government heads who have achieved outstanding results in local autonomous administration.

?

Nominees for each category are recommended by local governments nationwide, and 50 experts in local autonomy academia select candidates by voting. Then, a voting group consisting of about 1,400 people, including deputy heads of local governments, heads of planning departments, public officials, and members of the Regional Policy Research Forum, selects the awardees.

?

This year, one top local government head was selected in each of the four categories: metropolitan city mayor, small and medium city mayor, county governor, and district mayor. Mayor Noh Gwan-gyu was chosen as the final awardee in the small and medium city mayor category for cities with populations under 300,000 nationwide.

?

Mayor Noh created the brand ‘Korea’s Ecological Capital Suncheon’ 14 years ago, which led to the country’s first Garden Expo held in 2013. He was highly praised for removing 282 utility poles for the world’s first black-faced spoonbill habitat, turning Suncheon Bay into a global ecological tourism destination.

Additionally, his strategies for balanced development and revitalization of the old downtown, creation of the water city Yeonhyangdeul, attraction of a complex cultural shopping space, and leap to become a hub city of the South Coast Belt, as well as hosting the Garden Expo again after 10 years (2023), present a new milestone for the cities we will live in. These achievements received overwhelming support from public officials nationwide, leading to his selection as the ‘Local Autonomy CEO of the Year.’

?

Mayor Noh Gwan-gyu of Suncheon said, “I believe this award is even more meaningful because it was selected by votes from public officials across the country.” He added, “Having served as mayor during the 4th and 5th elected terms and returning after 10 years, I will do my best to complete Suncheon as an ecological capital and help it leap forward as a first-class city, as these achievements were made together with public officials without wasting a single second.”

Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Heo Seon-sik hss79@asiae.co.kr