Kim Kyung-il, Mayor of Paju, Reappointed as Chairman of the Local Governments' Council for Inter-Korean Peace and Cooperation

Kim Kyung-il, Mayor of Paju City, has been reappointed as the president of the Local Governments' Association for Inter-Korean Peace and Cooperation (hereinafter referred to as the Association), continuing his role as the president for the 4th term.

Kim Kyung-il, Mayor of Paju City. Provided by Paju City

Paju City announced that at the Association's regular general meeting held on the 26th, Mayor Kim Kyung-il was elected as the 4th-term president following his 3rd term. Since November last year, Mayor Kim has served as the president of the Association and has actively carried out activities to promote a peaceful coexistence atmosphere, such as the 'Peace & Security Commemorative Events' and the '2024 Peace Forum.'

With this reappointment, Paju City will serve as the president city until November next year and plans to focus on revitalizing the Association and establishing a cooperative system among local governments, along with member cities, by promoting various inter-Korean exchange and cooperation projects.

Mayor Kim Kyung-il of Paju City expressed regret over the prolonged deadlock in inter-Korean relations but stated, "Inter-Korean exchange and cooperation is not a matter of choice but a path that must be taken." He added, "Although direct exchanges between the North and South are currently in a deadlock, we will continue efforts to discover exchange and cooperation projects led by local governments," expressing his aspirations for the Association's activities.

Established officially in October 2021 to discover and promote joint inter-Korean exchange and cooperation projects among local governments, the Local Governments' Association for Inter-Korean Peace and Cooperation currently includes 14 metropolitan and basic local governments, including Gyeonggi Province, as member cities.