Heesu Kim, Jindo County Governor, "I will build a 'Harmonious Citizens, Beautiful and Future-Oriented Jindo'"

Press Conference on the 2nd Anniversary Achievements of the 8th Elected Term and the 3rd Year Operation Plan

Jindo-gun, Jeollanam-do held a press briefing on the 9th at the Jindo-gun Office meeting room to share the achievements of the second year of the 8th elected administration and to introduce the operational plan for the third year.

About 40 journalists attended the briefing, sharing diverse opinions and engaging in meaningful communication regarding the county administration.

Since the launch of the 8th elected administration with the motto "Citizens are the owners, a livable Jindo," Jindo-gun has achieved remarkable results by securing the largest amount of public project funds in history through innovation in county administration, marking a new starting point.

Despite the government's fiscal austerity policy last year, Jindo-gun secured 135.8 billion KRW from 70 public projects, the largest amount since its establishment. This is an enormous increase of 98.1 billion KRW compared to the 12-year average of 37.7 billion KRW.

Holding a press briefing to report on the achievements of the 2nd year of the 8th local government administration and the operational plan for the 3rd year.
[Photo by Jindo-gun]

This year, Jindo-gun secured 96.4 billion KRW from 30 public projects, including 30 billion KRW for the Jeonnam-type balanced development project, 20 billion KRW for the Republic of Korea cultural city project, and 10 billion KRW for the eco-friendly aquaculture promotion project, laying the groundwork for continuous regional development and new growth momentum.

Moreover, major evaluation results showed a steep upward trend. The comprehensive civil service evaluation improved three levels from a 'La' grade in 2022 to an 'A' grade last year, earning the honor of being selected as the nation's top institution. The comprehensive integrity evaluation, which was grade 5 in 2021, rose to grade 2. Jindo-gun was selected for the 2024 local tax comprehensive evaluation grand prize, received the highest grade for two consecutive years in the proactive administration comprehensive evaluation, and was recognized as an excellent institution in government joint evaluations and local finance execution, greatly enhancing the county's prestige.

The reason for these excellent achievements is that all Jindo citizens and public officials devoted their utmost efforts together.

In the third year of the 8th elected administration, building on the largest achievements in history, Jindo-gun has set six core directions through thorough analysis and supplementation to create a "harmonious citizenry, beautiful and future-oriented Jindo" and will actively pursue them.

We will foster sustainable future agriculture and fisheries to create a prosperous Jindo for all.

By expanding smart farm rental farms for young farmers, we will provide agricultural management opportunities and promote eco-friendly agriculture, climate change response, and agricultural production infrastructure expansion through a customized rental smart farm project for regional specialty crops (20 billion KRW).

Additionally, to develop and manage strategic seed varieties tailored to Jindo-gun and establish a stable aquaculture environment, a regional customized fishery seed commercialization center will be built by 2026 (10 billion KRW). To maintain the reputation as the nation's top seaweed production area, a seaweed industry promotion zone support project (5 billion KRW) will be implemented to develop fishery production infrastructure for the entire seaweed production process and strengthen export capabilities.

Furthermore, to secure competitiveness through export-oriented agricultural and fishery processed food development, the plan is to expand exports of agricultural and fishery products and processed foods to target the global market.

Jindo-gun is receiving the grand prize in the Jeollanam-do local tax administration comprehensive evaluation and is taking a commemorative photo.
[Photo by Jindo-gun]

We will promptly identify and strongly protect socially vulnerable groups to realize customized welfare where all citizens are healthy and happy.

Adult walkers will be provided at bus stops near the market day to enhance mobility for the elderly through free rental services. Support will be given for living in village senior centers during extreme cold and heat seasons, and a 120,000 KRW annual voucher for bathing, dental, and beauty services will be provided to basic pension recipients aged 80 and above to support clean and dignified elderly life.

To establish a monitoring and response system for high-risk solitary deaths, a welfare crisis alert app linked with the Jindo-gun public app will be developed to help eliminate welfare blind spots. For residents in areas with low medical institution accessibility and vulnerable groups with mobility difficulties, the "Our Village Dedicated Doctor System" will be expanded to 100 locations, and a health mobile bus will be operated using the local extinction response fund.

Efforts are underway to expand citizen-centered health care services, including consultations with the Ministry of Health and Welfare to support surgery costs for elderly knee artificial joints and eye diseases. From July 1 this year, universal transportation welfare was realized by providing free rides on all rural bus routes within the county.

We will establish a systematic support system for childbirth, parenting, and education to make Jindo a good place to have and raise children.

By 2025, an integrated support center for pregnancy, childbirth, and childcare will be established. Jeonnam will be the first to provide unlimited transportation cost support of up to 50,000 KRW per day for infertile couples regardless of the number of trips. Customized health management programs for pregnant women and infants, such as the popular "Happy Treasure Island Mom and Baby Meeting," "Smart Mom Golden Baby Visiting Nutrition," and early life health management projects, will be operated to create a favorable environment for childbirth and child-rearing.

Focus will also be placed on strengthening education expenses and youth support for nurturing future talents. The county will actively pursue designation as an education development special zone, which can receive 3 billion KRW annually through special education grants. The enrollment congratulatory money system, previously only for high school students, will be expanded to elementary and middle school students.

Support for overseas cultural exploration expenses for high school freshmen, laptop provision for smart learning environments, and 1:1 native speaker video English education for elementary, middle, and high school students will be provided to foster global talents.

In August, a youth culture center will open to support healthy youth cultural activities through various youth participation programs.

We will develop Jindo as the representative center of culture, arts, and tourism in Korea, making it a place to revisit and stay.

By 2027, the southern region's wide-area tourism development project will create cultural healing tourism route attractions such as the forest Sanbang healing forest and a humanities healing-themed playground (15.8 billion KRW), and the Sebang Sunset Art and Culture Tourism Attraction Project (14.3 billion KRW) will be promoted to build tourism infrastructure reflecting regional characteristics.

In addition, the Gogeun-myeon Hoedong tourist area will actively pursue the Jeonnam-type balanced development 300 project to establish a complex cultural space and youth startup stores.

Following the launch of the high-speed cafe ferry connecting Jindo and Jeju in May 2022, preparations will be actively supported for the launch of a new 10,000-ton ferry connecting Jindo and Jeju Aewol Port in 2026, including infrastructure maintenance.

Moreover, the Republic of Korea cultural city project (20 billion KRW) selected last year will be meticulously prepared to enhance Jindo's status as the nation's top cultural and arts city. Expansion of sports facilities through sports promotion facility support projects and sports marketing to attract large-scale national competitions and training camps will invigorate the local economy.

(Left) Kim Hee-su, Jindo County Governor, is taking a commemorative photo after signing an MOU for Pan-Asia exports.
[Photo by Jindo County]

We will create a beautiful and safe environment where flowers bloom 365 days a year, making Jindo a great place to live.

To create a beautiful Jindo where flowers bloom all year round, a distinctive chrysanthemum festival linked to the Treasure Island Cultural Arts Festival will be held, and flower seedling production will be expanded to create flower paths and flower beds offering diverse attractions for citizens and tourists.

The Treasure Island Canola Flower Village Festival, held for the first time this year, will be expanded, and active proposals will be made to establish the Jindo Cloud Forest Garden in Sacheon-ri, including pedestrian decks, ecological parks, trails, and observatories.

A smart parking system will officially operate from next month on the busy Nammun-ro in Jindo-eup, and five sections of urban planning roads and four roundabouts will be additionally opened to create a convenient and pleasant traffic environment.

Furthermore, the natural disaster risk improvement projects for Sipilsi (25 billion KRW) and Haechang-Yeomdae (81.5 billion KRW) will be promptly promoted. CCTV cameras (143 units) will be newly installed at 66 ports and harbors to prevent crime and respond quickly to safety accidents. Smart poles will be installed at six public parking lots to build infrastructure for responding to abnormal crimes, dedicating efforts to protect citizens' lives and property.

We will reflect large-scale SOC projects in national plans to lay the foundation for future growth and actively respond to the crisis of local extinction.

Through projects such as the new Jodo Bridge construction and Gasa Bridge construction, upgrading the Jindo Coastal Loop Road to National Road No. 77, road development on Local Road No. 801 (Haenam Sani to Usuyeong), extension of the Honam High-Speed Railway line to Jindo, and the expansion of Seomang Port national fishing port project (45 billion KRW), large-scale social infrastructure projects will be incorporated into national plans to prepare for future growth.

Housing projects for youth and newlyweds, such as Jeonnam-type 10,000 KRW housing construction and dormitory construction for stable rural nursing and welfare personnel in Gaho and Bokji, will be promoted. The Seo Jeong-hwan Baseball Town, featuring four baseball fields, 60 town village units, and 150 hotel rooms, and the National Road No. 18 Posan to Seomang facility improvement project with a budget of 142.6 billion KRW will be developed to attract residential and living populations.

Additionally, through the Haenam-Wando-Jindo wide-area cooperation project for joint response to local extinction, various linked cooperation projects in tourism, transportation, environment, and agricultural and fishery product marketing will be pursued.

Six projects, including the establishment of the Unlim ecological trail, have been initiated to promote local extinction response fund projects, and this year, efforts will be made to attract residential populations with the goal of creating Jindo-type communal living homes.

County Governor Kim Hee-su stated, "As we enter the third year of the 8th elected administration, the remaining two years will be actively pursued through meticulous and thorough analysis and planning to ensure that the many selected public projects provide tangible benefits to the citizens."

He also pledged, "We will listen carefully to every small voice of the citizens and, including myself as the county governor, all public officials will once again sprint with full effort to create a 'harmonious citizenry, beautiful and future-oriented Jindo.'"

Jindo = Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Oh Seung-geun just8440@asiae.co.kr