APEC Summit Gyeongju Hosting Resolution... 5 Mayors and County Chiefs of Gyeongbuk East Coast

Pohang, Gyeongju, Uljin, Yeongdeok, Ulleung

Resolution Passed After Signing Joint Petition

The heads of five cities and counties including Gyeongju, Pohang, Uljin, Yeongdeok, and Ulleung have united with one heart to attract the 2025 APEC Summit to Gyeongju.

The Gyeongbuk East Coast Win-Win Council, a cooperative body of the five East Coast cities and counties, held a regular meeting on the 12th at the Hupo Marina Port Clubhouse in Uljin and signed a joint petition to respond together to the '2025 APEC Summit Gyeongju Attraction' and reaffirmed their determination.

This meeting, held for the first time in three years due to COVID-19, was attended by about 60 people including Joo Nak-young, Mayor of Gyeongju, Son Byung-bok, County Governor of Uljin, Kim Kwang-yeol, County Governor of Yeongdeok, Nam Han-kwon, County Governor of Ulleung, Kim Nam-il, Deputy Mayor of Pohang, and private committee members from the cities and counties.

Leaders of five cities and counties on the east coast of Gyeongbuk are performing a ceremony after resolving to host the APEC Summit in Gyeongju. (From left in the photo: Kim Nam-il, Vice Mayor of Pohang; Kim Kwang-yeol, Mayor of Yeongdeok; Joo Nak-young, Mayor of Gyeongju; Son Byung-mok, Mayor of Uljin; Nam Han-kwon, Mayor of Ulleung) Photo by XXX

The meeting proceeded in the order of the council progress report, discussion of cooperative projects, promotional matters by city and county, and signing of the joint petition.

During the meeting, Mayor Joo Nak-young explained the vision and goals of the 32nd APEC Summit in 2025, the significance of hosting it in Gyeongju, and the basic direction for attraction, emphasizing that Gyeongju is the optimal city for hosting the summit and requested everyone to pool their capabilities.

As joint response proposals on the day, they decided to petition the government for the attraction of APEC to Gyeongju, countermeasures against the marine discharge of contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant, construction of the East Coast Expressway connecting Yeongdeok, Uljin, and Samcheok, and expansion of emergency preparedness facilities in Ulleung County.

Mayor Joo Nak-young said, “I deeply appreciate the East Coast Win-Win Council for recognizing the necessity of attracting APEC to Gyeongju for enhancing the competitiveness of local governments and balanced regional development, and adopting it as a joint petition. Hosting the APEC Summit in Gyeongju is very important for the city’s future century plan, and it is also essential for balanced development of South Korea in the era of decentralization.”

The mayor added, “Gyeongju City will also spare no joint efforts and support for various regional cooperative projects directly related to residents’ lives to advance the era of coexistence and prosperity in the Gyeongbuk East Coast region.”

The Gyeongbuk East Coast Win-Win Council is a cooperative body formed in January 2015 with Pohang as the central city and consisting of five cities and counties: Gyeongju, Yeongdeok, Uljin, and Ulleung, aiming to seek joint development for the prosperous lives of one million residents of the Gyeongbuk East Coast.