Governor Kim Young-rok: "Making Jeonnam a World-Focused and People-Attracting Region"

‘Grand Jeonnam 10 Major Projects’ Blueprint Presented

Jeonnam Special Self-Governing Province Establishment and Livelihood Stability Measures Also Announced

Jeonnam Governor Kim Young-rok stated, "The past two years have been a continuous series of challenges for the happiness of residents and regional development," adding, "In the second half of the term, we will focus on promoting the Grand Jeonnam 10 Major Projects to usher in an era of Jeonnam happiness that attracts global attention and draws people together."

On the morning of the 25th, Governor Kim held a press conference in the provincial government briefing room to mark the 2nd anniversary of the 8th elected term, announcing key achievements so far and future plans.

The main achievements of the first half include ▲laying the groundwork for the global leap of the energy industry and advanced strategic industries ▲establishing the foundation for a globally attractive city ▲setting the stage for a major transformation in future agriculture and fisheries ▲expanding large-scale SOC ▲expanding tangible public safety policies ▲emerging as the number one place in the local era and a center for national balanced development ▲creating opportunities for the establishment of a national medical university in Jeollanam-do.

Looking at Jeonnam's key economic and policy indicators, there has been a remarkable rise.

The budget, which was around 7 trillion won in 2018, increased by 71% over six years to approximately 12.9 trillion won. The national treasury budget rose by 51% from 6 trillion won to over 9 trillion won. The regional economy also ranked 4th nationwide in per capita Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP), and household income recorded an all-time high, ranking 11th for two consecutive years. Additionally, in the government's joint local government evaluation, Jeonnam achieved first place nationwide for two consecutive years starting in 2023, recognizing its administrative capabilities.

Thanks to the success of unprecedented mega events, the number of tourists recovered to pre-COVID-19 levels, reaching 63.23 million in 2023. Exports of agricultural, fishery, and food products surged by 52% over six years, hitting a record high of 630 million dollars.

Governor Kim Young-rok emphasized, "Building on the proven global competitiveness through these achievements, we will actively open the era of Jeonnam happiness that attracts global attention and draws people together," adding, "We have set the Jeonnam brand identity (BI) for the second half of the 8th term as ‘OK, Now Jeonnam’ and will focus on promoting the new blueprint for future generations, the ‘Grand Jeonnam 10 Major Projects.’"

The key contents of the Grand Jeonnam 10 Major Projects are ▲Establishment of Jeonnam Special Autonomous Province ▲New Wind Jeonnam as a Future New Growth Axis ▲Jeonnam Population Great Transformation Project ▲Namdo K-Culture Jeonnam ▲Jeonnam as the Energy Capital ▲Jeonnam Leap as the Land of Opportunities Attracting Companies ▲Global Brand Life Industry Jeonnam ▲Future-Oriented SOC Jeonnam ▲Warm Happy Community Jeonnam ▲Safety First Jeonnam.

Jeonnam Province plans to create a differentiated local autonomy model by establishing the ‘Jeonnam Special Autonomous Province’ as a drastic measure to overcome the crisis of local extinction, granting customized special authority to Jeonnam's comparative advantage industries such as energy, tourism, agriculture and fisheries, and advanced industries.

Additionally, through the ‘New Wind Jeonnam as a Future New Growth Axis’ project, which lays the foundation for future generations, a ‘Southern Coast Comprehensive Development Agency’ will be newly established to promote the Southern Coast development project in a one-stop manner. The Opportunity Development Special Zone will swiftly develop the designated 1.25 million pyeong across five industries and proceed with the additional designation of 750,000 pyeong for promising industries.

The ‘Jeonnam Population Great Transformation Project,’ which will breathe new life into the region, will also be fully launched. Jeonnam Province and city/counties will provide birth allowances, and a new 10 billion won Youth Hope Fund will be established to give hope to young people seeking employment and entrepreneurship. The establishment of the Jeonnam Immigration and Foreigners Comprehensive Support Center will also support the early settlement of foreigners.

To promote ‘Namdo K-Culture Jeonnam,’ which embodies the essence of K-culture, Jeonnam will globalize local content through the Jeonnam World Tourism and Culture Expo, and aim for the globalization of Namdo cuisine as an industry through the establishment of the Local Food Promotion Institute and the 2025 Namdo International Gourmet Industry Expo.

At the Yeosu World Expo site, an International Exhibition and Convention Center will be built to create a resort-type MICE hub city, and the International Ink Biennale will build a dedicated Namdo cultural exhibition hall to blossom the era of global Namdo cultural prosperity.

Furthermore, through the ‘Republic of Korea Energy Capital Jeonnam’ project, which will change the landscape of the future energy industry, a distributed energy specialized area will be designated, and global companies requiring Jeonnam-made renewable energy will be aggressively attracted. The pace of establishing an offshore wind power industry cluster, including the Vestas turbine factory, will be accelerated, and core infrastructure for the hydrogen economy such as hydrogen supply pipelines will be established.

To leap forward as the ‘Land of Opportunities Attracting Companies,’ Jeonnam will push for the designation of national advanced strategic industry specialized complexes for secondary batteries and bio-industries, and create a private launch site and a world-class space science park to establish itself as Asia's representative spaceport. Foundations for compound semiconductors and global data centers will also be developed.

For ‘Global Brand Life Industry Jeonnam’ through innovation in agriculture, fisheries, and livestock industries, full efforts will be made to create an AI advanced agriculture and livestock convergence valley, and through the Kim Industry Promotion Institute and the dried seaweed logistics complex, Jeonnam will strive to achieve 700 million dollars in seaweed exports.

Efforts to realize ‘Future-Oriented SOC Jeonnam’ will also be accelerated. The inclusion of the Yeongam-Gwangju future-type superhighway and the Goheung-Gwangju space highway in national plans will be expedited, and the Jeolla Line high-speed railway will be promoted as a new line throughout. To revitalize Muan International Airport, convenience facilities will be greatly expanded, and an optimal plan for integrating Gwangju's civilian and military airports will be prepared. Additionally, the Yeosu-Namhae Undersea Tunnel (700 billion won), a Sunshine Way of the archipelago comparable to the Mediterranean, will be swiftly constructed.

Through the ‘Warm Happy Community Jeonnam’ project, the professionalism of local welfare task forces will be enhanced, and job and medical support systems for the elderly and disabled will be expanded. Regarding the establishment of a medical school, various opinions will be sufficiently collected through an establishment method committee during the public contest process to create the greatest common denominator desired by residents, and medical benefits and support measures will be prepared for universities and regions not selected.

To realize ‘Safety First Jeonnam,’ where residents feel secure, given the expected rapid abnormal climate this year, projects such as local stream maintenance, disaster-prone area maintenance, and installation of automatic blocking facilities in urban underground passages will be actively promoted. A real-time disaster prevention response system will be established to build a seamless safety net so residents can live their daily lives with peace of mind.

Jeonnam Province will also focus all administrative power on stabilizing the livelihood economy to create ‘Jeonnam that Empowers Me.’ To this end, in July, an emergency additional investment of 78.8 billion won in livelihood funds will be made for 32 projects, including contingency funds.

To reduce the financial burden on small business owners, the repayment period for policy funds will be extended by one year, and part of the interest difference will be supported to lower the actual burden rate to as low as 1%. For Hanwoo farms with fewer than 30 heads, which are pushed to the brink due to rising feed prices and plummeting cattle prices, 6.3 billion won will be invested to support 50% of the increase in mixed feed prices. For fishermen suffering from high oil prices and crew shortages, 1.9 billion won will be invested to fully cover the self-pay portion of fishing vessel and crew insurance premiums for one month during the fishing ban period.

For farmers and fishermen facing difficulties due to frequent agricultural disasters and soaring fuel costs, Jeonnam strongly requests the government to extend the repayment period for agricultural and fishery policy funds, and 650 million won will be invested to provide 1 million won per household to victims of charter fraud.

Jeonnam Province will also closely monitor rice price declines, increases in public utility fees such as electricity and gas, and prepare additional customized livelihood measures.

Governor Kim Young-rok said, "Based on the achievements so far, Jeonnam has gained confidence that ‘we can accomplish anything’ and has built up capabilities," adding, "We will wisely navigate the waves of global transformation using Jeonnam's unique confidence and capabilities as a foothold."

He continued, "With the belief that what is most Jeonnam-like is the most global, we will soar powerfully toward the world," emphasizing, "I ask for the interest and support of residents in this great journey of challenge and change."