Cheong Jang Nam Seong-hyeon: "I Will Do My Best for Swift Progress"
[Wando＝Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Choi Kyung-pil] The Korea Forest Service has decided to establish the ‘National Subtropical Arboretum’ in Wando-gun, Jeollanam-do, and on the 30th, Shin Woo-cheol, the governor of Wando-gun, visited the Korea Forest Service to request prompt progress.
According to the county on the 31st, Governor Shin Woo-cheol exchanged opinions on specific promotion plans, including the early establishment of the National Subtropical Arboretum, through a meeting with Director Nam Seong-hyun.
(Center) Shin Woo-cheol, Wando County Governor, requested the early establishment of the National Subtropical Arboretum through a meeting with Nam Sung-hyun, Administrator of the Korea Forest Service. [Photo by Wando County]
During the meeting, Governor Shin said, “I am grateful for laying the groundwork for the early establishment of the National Subtropical Arboretum in our county by passing the difficult preliminary feasibility study,” and actively emphasized the necessity of early establishment, saying, “The National Subtropical Arboretum is expected to be a major driving force for revitalizing the local economy along with the marine healing industry, and I want to give the local residents, who are suffering from economic recession and other difficulties, the gift of the arboretum’s opening as soon as possible.”
He added, “We will strive to improve accessibility, including linking tourism resources such as the National Maritime Fisheries Museum and cable cars in line with the opening schedule, as well as the Gwangju?Wando Expressway and Wando?Goheung Marine Tourism Road. We will also do our best to ensure that administrative procedures such as permits involved in the arboretum’s establishment process are handled promptly.”
Nam Seong-hyun, director of the Korea Forest Service, stated, “Since the National Subtropical Arboretum is a large-scale national project, the Korea Forest Service is also hurrying so that the public can enjoy its value as soon as possible,” and added, “It is time to return the well-maintained forest of the past 50 years to the public. We will cooperate with the county to do our best so that the arboretum can serve as a platform for collection, exhibition, education, conservation, research functions, and regional tourism revitalization.”
Meanwhile, the National Subtropical Arboretum establishment project passed the preliminary feasibility study by the Ministry of Strategy and Finance in December last year at once.
With a project cost of 147.5 billion KRW (100% national funding), it plans to invest in the 381-hectare Wando Arboretum site to build the largest exhibition greenhouse and monorail in Korea, and will proceed with the basic planning service and other projects starting this year.
As the first subtropical arboretum to be established in Korea, it is expected to become a four-season green arboretum with international status, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors annually, generating over 1 trillion KRW in production added value, and creating more than 10,000 jobs.
Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Choi Kyung-pil ckp6737@asiae.co.kr
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