Gyeryong City Makes All-Out Efforts to Attract Military Supplies Manufacturers for a Self-Sufficient City of 70,000 Residents

Gyeryong City in South Chungcheong Province announced on the 7th that it will focus its administrative efforts on attracting military supply manufacturing companies to build a self-sufficient city with a population of 70,000.

According to the city, as of December 2024, the population of Gyeryong City was 46,540, which is a 4.64% increase from 44,475 in December 2022. Despite the nationwide trend of population decline, the city's population has grown.

The city analyzed that the population increase was due to factors such as the move-in of residents to apartment complexes in the Hadaesil District, convenient transportation, and the creation of a safe urban environment, including being ranked the best in various national safety indicators.

Accordingly, the city plans to build a knowledge industry center and attract military supply manufacturing companies to create quality jobs and increase the population to 70,000.

The knowledge industry center was selected for a national funding project by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, securing 16 billion KRW in national funds. A total budget of 25.3 billion KRW will be invested, with completion scheduled by 2029.

Additionally, leveraging its status as the nation's defense capital, the city is focusing its administrative efforts on attracting defense-related public institutions such as the Gyeryongdae branch of the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses, the Central Education Center of the Defense Transition Education Institute, and the Armed Forces Medical Academy.

Other plans include establishing a transfer center at Gyeryong Station, reviving the old Sindo Station, constructing the first phase of the Chungcheong Metropolitan Railway (Shintanjin to Gyeryong), opening a connecting road between Gyeryong-daero and National Route 1, and extending the Gyeryong IC on the Seoul-Sejong Expressway to build a wide-area transportation infrastructure.

The city will also develop a residential complex in the Hadaegil 2 District, covering 272,000 square meters, to accommodate 5,242 residents in 2,015 households by 2027.

Mayor Lee Eungwoo stated, "We will complete all the necessary conditions for urban growth, including jobs, safety, convenient transportation, and a comfortable residential environment, to surely achieve a self-sufficient city of 70,000 people. Together with over 500 public officials, we will do our utmost to make Gyeryong City the safest and most livable city in the nation."

Meanwhile, Gyeryong City was selected as an outstanding area for its safety index, achieving first and second grades in all categories in the 2024 Regional Safety Index conducted by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety for all local governments nationwide.