Naju City, 2nd Anniversary of the 8th Elected Term... Selection of Top 10 Achievements

Naju City, Jeollanam-do (Mayor Yoon Byung-tae) has selected the top 10 achievements that have further brightened Naju on the occasion of the 2nd anniversary of the 8th term of the elected administration.

According to Naju City on the 1st, the top 10 achievements include projects that have achieved remarkable growth, projects attempted for the first time in Naju, core issue resolutions, and public contest projects that will become future growth engines, reflecting administrative achievements that citizens have directly felt.

Naju City Signs Agreement with Mongolian Battsengel and Ukhinor Counties for the Introduction of Foreign Seasonal Workers.
[Photo by Naju City]

Mayor Yoon Byung-tae stated on the 2nd anniversary of the elected administration, “We have spent two years thinking and running together with 120,000 citizens, listening to voices from all walks of life, steadily paving the way for a leap toward a greater Naju, and achieving results in various fields,” highlighting the top 10 innovative achievements.

▲ Designation as ‘Direct Current Industry Global Innovation Special Zone’ … Establishing a hub for new energy industries

The city was designated as a ‘Direct Current Industry Global Innovation Regulatory Free Zone’ by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups on April 30, 2024. The core of the special zone project is the world’s first commercialization of a direct current-based future power grid platform.

By 2027, the city plans to build a commercial testbed for direct current-based power grid demonstration in the Naju Innovation Industrial Complex, where energy industry-academia-research institutions are concentrated.

Through this, the city aims to establish a virtuous cycle system for demonstration, testing, certification, and research of the direct current industry, one of the next-generation power systems, prepare domestic and international technical standards, support domestic equipment’s entry into overseas markets, and secure a leading position in the global market.

▲ Dream of a ‘Prestigious Education City’ attracting visitors for educational issues

On February 28, the city was selected as a leading area for the ‘Education Development Special Zone,’ which has been steadily prepared since the launch of the 8th term, enabling Naju to realize its dream of becoming a prestigious education city attracting visitors for educational issues.

The city plans to operate customized specialized education programs through joint curricula linked with excellent educational resources such as relocated public institutions in the innovation city, Korea Energy University, Dongshin University, and specialized high schools in science, foreign languages, horticulture, and beauty.

▲ Abundant cultural life comparable to the metropolitan area

Naju City introduced the province’s first lifelong learning voucher called ‘Naju Ae (愛) Learning Voucher.’ It issues a voucher-only card worth 150,000 KRW per person and has supported 5,500 people over two years. This policy has received great response as it not only enhances citizens’ cultural enjoyment but also strengthens the self-sustainability of institutions and organizations operating lifelong learning in the region.

▲ Increasing the value of imperfect agricultural products

In June 2024, the city was selected for the ‘Food Tech Research Support Center Construction’ public contest project, securing a project budget of 10.5 billion KRW after long preparation. Through the nation’s first center construction, it will build a food upcycling industry hub infrastructure that recycles imperfect agricultural products and by-products generated during food manufacturing processes to increase added value.

This is expected to secure sustainable agricultural competitiveness, increase farmers’ income, and play a leading role in carbon neutrality.

▲ Excellent agricultural products expanding globally

Since the launch of the 8th term, the city has focused on securing domestic and international sales channels for excellent agricultural and specialty products such as Naju pears and Naju rice. So far, it has signed export agreements worth 37.3 billion KRW with local distributors in the U.S., UAE, Vietnam, New Zealand, Australia, and others.

The export scale increased from about 80 billion KRW in 2022 to 100 billion KRW in 2023. The city is accelerating the restoration of the global prestigious fruit reputation by launching ‘Cheonnyeon I-eum Naju Pear,’ a high-quality pear certified by the Naju Mayor’s Quality Assurance System.

▲ Relief for farming labor shortage, significant expansion of foreign seasonal workers

Due to rapid rural aging, foreign seasonal workers, a key measure to urgently resolve the farming labor shortage, increased significantly from 32 in 2022 to 532 in the first half of 2024. This not only alleviated the labor shortage but also saved about 8.7 billion KRW in farming labor costs over the past two years.

▲ ‘Call-on-demand’ Naju Call Bus, the first in Jeollanam-do, firmly established

The ‘Naju Call Bus’ is a new concept of public transportation that operates to the destination whenever passengers call, regardless of route or time. It was introduced in Bitgaram-dong as the first in Jeollanam-do under the 8th term public transportation route reform policy.

Since its pilot operation from September 2023 to the end of March this year, the average monthly number of users was about 9,600. Compared to the previous public bus users of about 2,200, usage increased about fourfold, with a utilization rate increase of 330%, successfully settling in.

▲ Odor Integrated Control Center protects a pleasant urban environment

Since July 2023, the city has established and operated the province’s first Odor Integrated Control Center. Utilizing cutting-edge technology for odor prevention and rapid on-site response, it also serves as a dedicated window for odor complaints, resolving residents’ grievances and receiving praise for empathetic, field-centered administration.

Thirty-one odor measuring devices are installed and operated near major odor-emitting business sites in the area, collecting real-time odor data 24/7 to predict odor occurrences and track routes before and after occurrences for proactive response.

▲ Nationwide first ‘Zero Deposit Housing’ accelerates youth population inflow

The city supplied 30 zero-deposit free rental houses in 2023 for ‘employment youth’ who find jobs and move to Naju. This year, 70 more units will be added to accelerate youth population inflow. According to last year’s migration statistics, there was a net inflow of 1,361 people, with 60.4% of them aged 18 to 45.

▲ Protecting seniors’ joint health with ‘Standing Tables and Chairs’ distribution

To improve the sitting culture that strains seniors’ joints in village senior centers, the city fulfilled its 8th term pledge by supplying 2,417 sets of standing tables and chairs to all senior centers.

Originally planned to be distributed annually from 2022 to 2025, the high satisfaction among seniors led to early completion by the end of 2023, receiving great acclaim.

Naju = Kim Yuk-bong, Honam Reporting Headquarters, Asia Economy baekok@asiae.co.kr