Presenting Vision for the Era of 15 Million Tourists and the Creation of a Future-Oriented Industrial Ecosystem
Kim Kwang-yeol, Governor of Yeongdeok County, Gyeongbuk Province, expressed his ambition at the 2025 opening ceremony held on the 2nd in the main conference room of the government office to realize six major priority tasks this year to prevent local extinction and achieve sustainable regional growth.
Kim Kwang-yeol, Yeongdeok County Governor, is discussing key tasks at the 2025 opening ceremony. Photo by Yeongdeok County
First, Governor Kim looked back on last year, highlighting remarkable achievements such as △designation as Gyeongbuk’s first ‘K-Wellness City’ △ranking first in the province for living population in the second quarter △receiving the Presidential Citation for Youth Village Merit, the Grand Prize for Local Government Jobs nationwide, and the Gyeongbuk Energy Award △selection of the East Coast National Geopark as an ecological tourism area by the Ministry of Environment △achieving a grade 3 in the comprehensive integrity evaluation for the first time in 12 years.
He attributed these results to his administration’s field-oriented governance, which actively reflected the sincere voices of residents by visiting 204 village senior centers during his term, holding ‘Field Communication Days,’ and attending meetings of village chiefs in each town and township to actively communicate local issues.
Based on the accumulated achievements over the past two years and stable local finances trending upward despite difficult national fiscal conditions, Governor Kim emphasized his commitment to faithfully advancing priority tasks for the future of Yeongdeok to meet residents’ trust and foster Yeongdeok’s leap forward.
First, in connection with the operation of the Donghae Line railway and the completion of the Pohang-Yeongdeok Expressway, he plans to diversify tourism content and implement strategic tourism marketing to expand the current annual tourist number of 10 million to 15 million, establishing Yeongdeok as the premier tourist resort on the East Coast.
Next, he intends to solidly carry out the Urban Regeneration New Deal project and Our Neighborhood Revitalization project, which secured national funding through public contests, and promote projects that revitalize local commercial districts such as the reconstruction of Yeongdeok Market, installation of arcades in Yeonghae Market, and modernization of Ganggu Market facilities, thereby improving residents’ living conditions and quality of life through job creation and expansion of living infrastructure.
Following this, the priority tasks include △strategic support policies responding to climate change and aging population for sustainable rural development △cultivating future talents and building a welfare Yeongdeok where all residents are happy △establishing disaster prevention infrastructure to make Yeongdeok safe from disasters and calamities.
Finally, Governor Kim revealed his ambition to secure new growth engines and pioneer new avenues for the regional economy by creating a future-oriented industrial ecosystem linking local governments, industries, schools, and research institutes.
To this end, a vision was presented to establish the largest advanced marine seafood processing complex on the East Coast by building an economic platform connecting Ganggu Port, a key hub of the nationally funded Smart Seafood Processing Complex project and the Fishing Village New Vitality Promotion project, with the Lohas Agricultural and Industrial Complex, thereby integrating marine fisheries, tourism, R&D, and startups.
Governor Kim Kwang-yeol stated, “Through priority tasks that secure the living population and inject new vitality into the regional economy, we will respond to local extinction and secure future growth,” adding, “I am determined to devote all my heart and strength to adding happiness to residents’ lives and meeting the expectations of visitors.”
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
