Park Wansu, Governor of Gyeongnam Province: "Joint Projects, Either Take Charge or Form a Consultative Body"

After completing his first tour of cities and counties since taking office, Park Wan-su, Governor of Gyeongnam Province, met with reporters at the provincial government press center on the 2nd.

Governor Park spoke about the Ungdong District development project, which is being jointly implemented with Changwon City, and pointed out the limitations of the joint project.

“The Ungdong District development project will have its project operator reselected through a public contest after the hearing results from the Busanjinhae Free Economic Zone Authority regarding the cancellation of the current operator come out,” he explained. “Subsequently, according to legal procedures and agreements, the investments made so far will be settled, and the responsible institution will be held accountable based on the audit.”

He continued, “Joint projects such as the Ungdong District development and Robot Land are managed by two institutions, making it difficult to reach agreements on progress and causing unclear responsibility. If the city agrees, we are considering having one institution take charge of the project or establishing an administrative consultative body as an independent consultative organization.”

Park Wan-su, Governor of Gyeongnam Province, is answering questions from reporters at the provincial government office.
[Photo by Lee Se-ryeong]

Governor Park recently mentioned the government’s policy to reduce tolls on the Yeongjong Bridge and Incheon Bridge and announced plans related to reducing tolls on the Machang Bridge and Geoga Bridge.

“The Incheon and Yeongjong Bridges are highways managed and overseen by the government, but the Machang and Geoga Bridges are the responsibility of local governments,” he said. “We have recently reached an agreement with Changwon City and will announce toll reduction measures in the near future.”

“We are analyzing related data to restructure the Machang Bridge project,” he added. “If the Machang Bridge side transfers the project to the local government on the condition of recovering the investment costs from the tolls collected so far and those expected in the future, we will also review that part.”

He noted that the government’s budget for next year includes funding for a study on improving toll collection on private roads, expressing his intention to improve toll collection methods and efforts to designate the Geoga Bridge as a highway.

Regarding the administrative integration of Pukyong, he said, “It is the only way to secure new competitiveness and respond to the metropolitan area.” He added, “If more than two-thirds of Gyeongnam residents and Busan citizens agree on administrative integration, we will proceed in earnest.”

Gyeongnam Governor Park Wansu is taking notes on reporters' questions during a press briefing.
[Photo by Lee Seryeong]

On the issue of regional population decline, he predicted, “Although South Korea’s population is decreasing, it seems people do not feel the urgency yet, but in about five years, it will become a serious problem.”

“Every company complains about a shortage of workers,” he said. “We need a manpower support policy department rather than just a job policy department, and a manpower support organization to secure the lacking industrial workforce.”

He stated, “Local governments cannot drastically increase the population on their own, so we prioritize increasing jobs through corporate investment and creating residential spaces and environments.” He added, “Population decline cannot be solved by encouraging childbirth alone, so I hope the political circles seriously consider and establish countermeasures.”

He expressed regret over the lack of medical personnel, medical facilities, financial, and administrative support in rural areas.

He mentioned that efforts are underway to increase medical school admissions, establish new medical schools, expand medical facilities such as Red Cross hospitals, enforce mandatory rural service for a certain period, and adjust performance by medical specialties.

Governor Park said on the day, “The demands and claims we have made so far are being reflected in the government.” He added, “We will continue to make every effort to revitalize Gyeongnam’s economy and work with the government and neighboring metropolitan local governments to promote the development of infrastructure such as tourism on the southern coast, railroads, and roads.”