[Interview] Choi Woncheol, Mayor of Gongju: "Doing Our Best to Make Gongju a Happier and Better Place to Live for Citizens"

"This Year, 'Sudo Geoseong' Will Be the Key Principle Guiding All City Policies"

Choi Woncheol, Mayor of Gongju

Gongju City in Chungnam is rapidly changing as it implements a variety of policies centered on citizen happiness in the era of the 8th popularly elected administration. Mayor Choi Woncheol has been steadily promoting new policies for future advancement, building on the achievements made together with citizens over the past two and a half years. On the occasion of the new year of Eulsanyeon, the Year of the Blue Snake, symbolizing wisdom and change, we spoke with Mayor Choi Woncheol about Gongju's vision and future plans as it grows into a "strong city."

-It has been 2 years and 6 months since the start of the 8th administration. What are your thoughts?

▲For the past two and a half years since the launch of the 8th administration, we have prioritized 'citizen happiness' and implemented policies one by one to realize this goal. As a result, Gongju has become more vibrant and transformed. Especially, by establishing and executing policies through communication with citizens, we have achieved tangible changes and results that citizens can truly feel. As an ancient city of Baekje culture where history and culture blend, Gongju has achieved results in various fields such as revitalizing the local economy and youth policies. This was made possible thanks to the ongoing interest and cooperation of our citizens. We will continue to strive for new leaps forward based on this cooperation.

-What were the most notable achievements of the past year?

▲In 2024, Gongju responded to citizens' desire for change and achieved various accomplishments, both large and small. We successfully hosted the 70th Baekje Cultural Festival as a standalone event for the first time in 18 years, attracting 996,000 visitors and generating an economic impact of about 33.5 billion won. We also held the nation's first "Korea Chestnut Expo," which drew 160,000 visitors and elevated the brand value of Gongju's chestnuts. In 2028, we plan to host an international chestnut industry expo to further promote Korea's chestnut industry. Most notably, we succeeded in attracting the headquarters of the Livestock Environment Management Institute, a public institution, following the Korea Food Safety Management Certification Institute under the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. The Gongju-Sejong Metropolitan BRT construction project broke ground with the goal of opening in 2026, and by securing design funds for the Jukdang-ri Land Art Park, we have laid the foundation for the creation of the Geumgang (Eocheon~Jukdang) National Garden.

-What are the results of the population policy focused on 'living population'?

▲Among population-declining areas in Chungnam, Gongju had the highest average monthly living population in the first half of last year. According to data from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and Statistics Korea, 82% of Gongju's staying population were residents from other cities and provinces, significantly higher than the national average of 69%, and the six-month revisit rate was 35%. The strategy to increase the living population, implemented since the start of the 8th administration to actively respond to the risk of local extinction, has shown meaningful results. In addition, we are aggressively promoting projects to attract external population inflow, such as the 'Gongju-You' program, a stay-type small farm initiative, utilizing 6.4 billion won from the local extinction response fund.

-What are your plans to make Gongju a city where young people want to stay and live?

▲Young people are the driving force of regional growth and the main players in sustainable development. Institutional support is needed so that young people can put down roots in the region and design their lives and dreams. Our city is establishing a five-year basic plan for youth policy under the vision of "Gongju, a city of youth happiness created by youth." We will also establish governance to effectively implement various youth policies. Through policies centered on the lives of young people and reflecting their voices, we will strive to ensure that youth take the lead in the region's growth and change.

-What are your customized education and senior welfare policies?

▲We will ensure that no one leaves Gongju because of educational issues. We are implementing childcare and education policies based on the concept that "Gongju City is responsible for children from age 0 to 18." As part of practical free education, we fully support educational expenses, school uniforms, meal costs, and now also provide full support for sportswear purchases for middle and high school students. Last year, we supported overseas field trips for middle school students, and this year, we plan to support international exchange English camps. In particular, the 10 billion won Special Education Development Zone project will be fully implemented over the next three years starting this year. We will restore our reputation as a true education city through 28 detailed projects, including establishing a learning-type Neulbom Support Center, developing elementary, middle, and high school programs in cooperation with universities, and operating smart safety shuttle buses. For senior welfare, our city's unique "Smart Senior Center" initiative stands out. Introduced for the first time in Chungnam under the 8th administration, it has been very well received by seniors. By the end of this year, we will invest a total of 5 billion won to transform 316 senior centers in the city into smart senior centers. We will provide a variety of services tailored to seniors' needs by equipping them with advanced devices such as health measurement equipment, two-way video conferencing devices, and smart farms.

-What are your plans to secure new growth engines for regional vitality?

▲We will make the Donghyeon District, adjacent to Sejong City, the core axis of future growth engines. The main plan is to develop a public office site on approximately 130,000 square meters of land. We have already attracted the Korea Food Safety Management Certification Institute as the first public institution to move in, and have now succeeded in attracting the headquarters of the Livestock Environment Management Institute as the second. Once both institutions are fully operational, about 40,000 people are expected to visit Gongju annually. We plan to further attract public institutions to this area, expand it into a food safety R&D cluster, and foster it as a hub for future regional high-tech industries. In addition, we were selected for the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's "2024 Drone Demonstration City Project" and have begun drone delivery services in logistics-vulnerable areas since the second half of last year. This year, we will select one district along the Geumgang River to lay the foundation for a drone-specialized complex.

-What is your direction for developing Gongju as a historical and cultural tourism city?

▲We will create "Ungjin Baekje Cultural Village" to highlight the spirit of Baekje and the identity of Gongju. From 2026 to 2030, we will invest a total of 100 billion won to build a Baekje royal capital experiential village, foster startup businesses in traditional markets, and create a royal culture stay, establishing various infrastructures befitting the image of the Baekje royal capital. We will also construct the Baekje Culture Center (tentative name), which will comprehensively showcase Baekje's history and culture through performances, exhibitions, and experiences. Ground was broken last year, and it is scheduled for completion within this year. Together with Chungcheongnam-do, we will also create a Hanok Village of 1,000 traditional houses where visitors can see, feel, and stay to experience the essence of Baekje at a glance.

As the only city in the Chungcheong region selected as a specialized night tourism city, we will invest a total of 3.8 billion won over four years until 2027. We aim to establish a differentiated night tourism brand unique to Gongju and transform it into a stay-type tourism city.

-What efforts are being made to revitalize the local economy?

▲We plan to create quality jobs through corporate attraction and private sector-led investment activities. Since the start of the 8th administration, we have attracted 62 companies and secured 849.1 billion won in investment. We have greatly lowered the barriers to corporate attraction by simplifying administrative procedures and shortening review periods. This year, we aim to attract eight companies and induce 100 billion won in investment. By 2028, we will add new growth engine industrial complexes in the Gangbuk and Gangnam areas, attract high-tech industries, and cluster similar industries to lay the foundation for economic revitalization. In addition, as a support policy for small business owners and self-employed people, we have provided 580 million won in card fee support to over 2,000 small business owners. We have also established a four-year plan outlining Gongju's economic blueprint, and by 2026, we will do our best to create 12,000 jobs and achieve an employment rate of 68%.

Choi Wancheol, Mayor of Gongju City

-What are your plans to enhance the competitiveness of Gongju agriculture?

▲To strengthen Gongju agriculture, we have established the '3S Promotion Strategy' to drive innovation in agriculture and rural areas. The first of the 3S strategies is 'Smart Agriculture,' which aims to foster the future agri-food industry. The second is 'Profitable Farmers,' nurturing farmers who earn stable incomes through diversified convergence distribution channels. The third is 'Safe Rural Areas,' a strategy to create happy rural communities through safe farming practices and therapeutic agriculture. To support these strategies, we are rapidly promoting the spread of scientific farming technologies and convergence collaboration systems. Alongside these three major strategies for agriculture and rural areas, we plan to shape the future of Gongju agriculture by creating a vibrant rural environment.

-Please share your future plans and resolutions.

▲By focusing all our capabilities on normally implementing the 76 pledge projects of the 8th administration, we have achieved an 82.7% completion rate. In May last year, we received the highest grade, SA (Superior), in the pledge implementation evaluation announced by the Korea Manifesto Implementation Headquarters. We will continue to faithfully fulfill our promises to citizens and strive to successfully complete both pledge and pending projects. To this end, in 2025, the year of Eulsanyeon (乙巳年), we will adopt the saying "Sudo Geoseong" (when water arrives, a channel is formed) as the guiding principle of city administration, promoting all policies through citizen cooperation. We ask for the valuable companionship of our citizens as we take strong steps toward realizing the fundamental philosophy of Gongju City administration: 'citizen happiness' and 'a better place to live.'