Naju-si and Jeonju-si, Mutual Cross Donations under the Hometown Love Donation System

[Naju=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yukbong] On the 19th, Yoon Byung-tae, mayor of Naju City, Jeollanam-do, visited the NH Nonghyup Bank Naju Branch Office and donated funds to Jeonju City, Jeollabuk-do.

Yoon Byung-tae, Mayor of Naju, and Woo Beom-gi, Mayor of Jeonju, donated funds to both cities on the 19th.
[Photo by Naju]

According to the city on that day, Woo Beom-gi, mayor of Jeonju City, also visited the NH Nonghyup Jeonju Branch Office and donated funds to Naju City, resulting in mutual cross-donations through the Hometown Love Donation System.

Naju and Jeonju are the historical, political, and geographical central cities of Jeolla Province.

The origin of the place name ‘Jeollado’ (全羅道) comes from Gangnamdo (江南道) Jeonju-mok and Haeyangdo (海陽道) Naju-mok, two of the twelve mok established by King Seongjong during the Goryeo Dynasty.

In 1018, King Hyeonjong of Goryeo, nine years into his reign, created the name Jeollado from the first characters of Jeonju and Naju. The year 2023 marks the 1005th anniversary of this place name.

Earlier, in 2018, both cities held commemorative events to celebrate the millennium of the Jeolla Province name.

Naju and Jeonju are member cities of the National Dongju City Exchange Council, an organization established for mutual exchange and joint development among 15 cities nationwide that have the character ‘ju’ (州) in their city names. They continue exchanges through annual general meetings and other events.

In particular, the mutual cross-donation draws attention because both Mayor Yoon and Mayor Woo share common backgrounds as former Ministry of Strategy and Finance officials and having served as political vice governors of Jeollanam-do and Jeollabuk-do respectively before being elected as heads of basic local governments.

Yoon Byung-tae, mayor of Naju City, said, “I find it very meaningful that the two cities representing Jeolla Province have made mutual cross-donations in the spirit of cooperation. As sister cities of Jeollanam-do and Jeollabuk-do, I hope this will serve as a catalyst to activate exchanges and cooperation in various fields and to expand the Hometown Love Donation System.”

Woo Beom-gi, mayor of Jeonju City, said, “The Hometown Love Donation System can foster a healthy donation culture and revitalize the local economy by providing thank-you gifts to donors. I hope that through this donation, the donation culture will spread and the system will gain vitality.”

The Hometown Love Donation System is a system where individuals (donors) who donate a certain amount to regions other than their registered address receive tax deduction benefits, and the recipient regions provide thank-you gifts to the donors.

Naju=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yukbong baekok@asiae.co.kr