As the 8th elected administration of Naju City, launched under the slogan "A Happy Naju Good to Live In, A Leading Top Naju," enters its third year, the city’s achievements from last year?sweeping nationwide and Jeollanam-do first-place titles in major evaluations?are being reexamined.
According to Naju City on the 25th, Mayor Yoon Byung-tae has been sharing the key accomplishments achieved with citizens last year through dialogues with residents of 20 eup, myeon, and dong districts since the 9th, gaining strong public consensus.
First, Naju has transformed into a region where young people return through job creation and housing stability.
The city won the “Grand Prize” at the 2023 Korea Regional Economy Awards hosted by the Korean Regional Economic Association and the Korea Regional Economic Research Institute.
By implementing 152 projects in job creation, including youth jobs and youth startup support programs, Naju ranked first nationwide in job creation and second in corporate support, securing the overall top position.
Following jobs, to resolve housing issues for employed youth, Naju supplied 30 units of the nation’s first “free” rental housing, where tenants pay only management fees without any deposit, and plans to increase the housing supply to a total of 100 units this year.
Naju agricultural products opened export routes worldwide. Since the 8th elected administration began, overseas exports of local agricultural specialties have significantly increased to 44.6 billion KRW. The key policy of introducing foreign seasonal workers secured 345 workers?more than ten times the previous year?helping alleviate labor shortages in agriculture.
Additionally, various agricultural policy support measures, including rice management stabilization funds for farm management stability, rural space maintenance, and drainage improvement projects, were promoted, earning Naju the “Excellence Award” in the comprehensive evaluation of agricultural administration in Jeollanam-do.
Efforts to expand the public value of Naju Local Food, based on trust and coexistence between producers and consumers, led to winning the grand prize in the regional food index evaluation hosted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, establishing Naju as the top agricultural administration local government in the province.
For seniors, people with disabilities, and residents needing care, the city laid the foundation for a happy Naju good to live in through welfare policies that directly impact daily life.
From the end of 2021 through last year, the city completed the distribution of standing tables and chairs to 620 senior centers?the first in the province?improving the sitting culture that adversely affected seniors’ joints. For 137 old rural houses, the city lowered the earthen floors to prevent falls and enhance living convenience.
For 3,545 residents aged 65 and older, the city supported 50% of the cost for shingles vaccination, which had been a significant financial burden. Starting this year, the age eligibility was lowered to 63.
Also, Naju designated 180 village senior centers as “100-Year Safe Senior Centers,” dispatching care managers and operating cognitive enhancement programs. Early dementia screening is conducted under a three-year dementia survey plan, easing citizens’ concerns about dementia.
Through these efforts, Naju achieved first place nationwide with an overwhelming 95.5% dementia management rate in the 2023 government joint evaluation.
▲ Jeollanam-do’s first emergency care center for people with developmental disabilities and operation of a 24/7 childcare room and public late-night pharmacy (Firefly Pharmacy) ▲ Support for all infertile couples’ treatment and examination costs regardless of income criteria ▲ Provision of housekeeping care services for all pregnant women ▲ Increased childbirth incentive payments with abolished residency conditions, building infrastructure for a city good for having and raising children, resulting in an 8.09% increase in birth rate compared to the previous year, ranking first among cities in the province.
The hometown love donation system, first implemented nationwide among local governments, exceeded its target of 1 billion KRW by raising 1.067 billion KRW, ranking first among city governments nationwide.
In the comprehensive integrity evaluation hosted by the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, Naju improved two grades from the previous year to achieve an overall grade 3, and for the first time in the city’s history, won the “Excellence Award” in the anti-corruption policy evaluation among 22 cities and counties in the province, celebrating a double success.
In education, notable achievements included the province’s first implementation of the Naju愛 Learning Voucher promoting universal learning rights and cultural and leisure activities, the establishment of the Future Education Support Center to nurture future talents, and selection for a school complex facility project to alleviate overcrowding in Bitgaram-dong classrooms.
The city also established an integrated odor monitoring center operating 24/7 throughout the year and introduced the demand-responsive Naju Call Bus in the innovation city, both firsts in the province.
Moreover, Naju held its first “Capital Region Investment Attraction Roadshow,” securing 30 billion KRW in investment, signed an investment agreement for a 500 billion KRW scale industrial complex rooftop solar power facility, and formalized an energy cluster project linked with Korea Energy Technology University (KENTECH) through a business agreement with Jeollanam-do and Jeonnam Development Corporation, accelerating its leap as an advanced science city and a carbon-neutral leading city.
Based on these achievements, the youth population aged 18 to 45, which had decreased by 916 the previous year, declined by only 5 last year, significantly slowing the downward trend, while the total population increased by 921.
Mayor Yoon Byung-tae said, “The numerous achievements and the first-ever policies nationwide, in Jeollanam-do, and in Naju last year were possible thanks to the support of citizens aiming for a global small but strong city of 200,000. We will do our best to promote policies and results that citizens can feel in 2024 as well.”
Naju = Kim Yuk-bong, Honam Reporting Headquarters, Asia Economy baekok@asiae.co.kr
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