Kim Byungnae, Namgu District Mayor of Gwangju, Elected as First President of Missionary Base Registration Council

Inaugural General Meeting of the Local Government Council for the Registration of Missionary Bases as World Heritage. Provided by Namgu, Gwangju

Namgu District in Gwangju announced on the 23rd that District Mayor Kim Byungnae has been elected as the inaugural president of the Local Government Council for the Registration of Missionary Bases as World Heritage (hereafter referred to as the Council), which includes participation from eight local governments across the country.

The inaugural general meeting was held on the morning of June 20 in the second-floor conference room of Christian College of Nursing in Yangnim-dong, Namgu. During the meeting, participants held comprehensive discussions on the election of executive officers and the adoption of bylaws for the operation of the Council.

Mayor Kim was unanimously elected as the first president of the Council by representatives from all participating local governments, including Jung-gu in Daegu, Cheongju, Gongju, Jeonju, Gimje, Mokpo, and Suncheon, who attended the general meeting. The term of office is one year, with the possibility of reappointment. Ryu Kyuhwa, Mayor of Jung-gu in Daegu, and Choi Woncheol, Mayor of Gongju, were elected as vice presidents, while Noh Gwan-gyu, Mayor of Suncheon, was elected as auditor. Together, they will lead the Council alongside Mayor Kim Byungnae.

Until the first half of next year, as president of the Council, Mayor Kim will be responsible for promoting cooperative projects aimed at World Heritage registration and for widely publicizing the value of Korea's missionary bases around the world.

Major cooperative projects include academic conferences and joint research on missionary base sites, as well as policy proposals related to World Heritage. At the general meeting, President Kim presented strategies for utilizing the eight missionary bases located across the country and shared a future vision for them.

President Kim stated, "If the registration is achieved, it will be the first case in Asia, so people around the world could come to Korea for pilgrimage instead of traveling to Jerusalem," adding, "There is a need to develop an eight-night, nine-day pilgrimage package where visitors spend one night each in Daegu, Cheongju, Gongju, Jeonju, Gimje, Mokpo, Suncheon, and Gwangju."

He further commented, "There are still procedures remaining for registration, so I believe the registration will be completed around 2030. By then, cooperative projects among local governments will also generate synergistic effects."