'First Visit to Jeonnam Since Inauguration' Yoon: "Honam's Development is South Korea's Development"

President Yoon Suk-yeol and his wife visiting the Suncheon Bay International Garden Expo [Image source=Yonhap News]

President Yoon Suk-yeol attended the opening ceremony of the 2023 Suncheon Bay International Garden Expo on the evening of the 31st and said, "When I started politics, I said that the development of Honam is the development of the Republic of Korea, and that the prosperity of Korea means the prosperity of Honam." This is the first time President Yoon has visited the Jeonnam region since his inauguration in May last year.

President Yoon also said, "I will take good care to make Suncheon a key hub for the development of Honam and the Republic of Korea." He added, "Suncheon has the philosophy that ecology revitalizes the economy and has transformed the entire city into an ecological and garden city. This aligns with my philosophy of balanced regional development, where local areas find and nurture their comparative advantages for growth, and the central government supports them."

President Yoon said, "Suncheon and Jeonnam are places I have a special affection for. During my school days, I often visited Suncheon and Jeonnam with my friends, and while working in public service (prosecutor) in Gwangju, I spent holidays along the beautiful Jeonnam Dadohae coast, including Suncheon."

He also said, "It is a new and overwhelming feeling to stand here again after one year since I met you at Suncheon Station in February last year, when the presidential election fever was intense."

First Lady Kim Keon-hee also attended the event.

After the opening ceremony, President Yoon and his wife had dinner with local politicians, businesspeople, and representatives of social organizations from the Jeonnam region, where they listened to opinions related to regional development.

Before the opening ceremony, President Yoon visited the Juam Regulation Dam in Suncheon to check on the drought situation in the Honam region.

The presidential office stated that President Yoon carefully attended to local issues and promised interest and support for the development of Jeonnam.