Pohang Mayor Lee Kangdeok: "A Decisive Turning Point to Prepare for the Next 100 Years, All-Out Effort to Establish Growth Base"

Expanded Executive Meeting Held On-site at the Advanced Marine R&D Center Ahead of Opening
Exploring Strategies for the Next 100 Years Including Strengthening Competitiveness in Advanced Marine Industries

Pohang Mayor Lee Kangdeok emphasized that "if the integration of Pohang City and Yeongil County 30 years ago laid the foundation for the city's growth, we now stand at a decisive turning point to prepare for the next 100 years," urging all officials to make every effort to establish a sustainable growth base.

On July 7, Pohang City held the expanded executive meeting for July at the Advanced Marine R&D Center located in Songdo-dong, Nam-gu.

Pohang City held the expanded executive meeting for July on the 7th at the Advanced Marine R&D Center in Songdo-dong, Nam-gu. Photo by Pohang City

This meeting was held in the form of an on-site session at the Advanced Marine R&D Center, which is scheduled to open on July 9, rather than in the usual city hall conference room, to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Pohang City-Yeongil County integration, adding further significance to the event.

At this center, which serves as a hub for marine convergence industries, the city explored growth strategies for the next 100 years and conducted an intensive review of major pending projects.

First, the meeting provided a comprehensive review of the achievements of the 6th, 7th, and 8th popularly elected city administrations, and discussed future supplementary tasks and directions for development.

Next, the operational plans for the Advanced Marine R&D Center were shared, and in-depth discussions were held on fostering promising marine enterprises and securing technological competitiveness in the marine sector.

The city plans to use this center as a base to build a new growth axis that integrates marine, bio, and tourism industries, leveraging Pohang's strengths, and to enhance the competitiveness of advanced marine industries as new engines for the city's next 100 years.

Mayor Lee stated, "The past 11 years have been a time of diversifying the region's steel-centered industrial structure and strengthening the competitiveness of future industries and the city itself," and called on all public officials to work together to complete a sustainable urban foundation through challenge and innovation during the remainder of his term.

Additionally, the meeting reviewed comprehensive measures to prepare for natural disasters during the summer, and closely examined each department’s readiness for heatwaves and typhoons.

In particular, the meeting focused on confirming whether practical response measures?such as the installation of flood barriers, maintenance of drainage and sewer systems, and pre-inspections of flood-prone areas?were functioning properly. Mayor Lee also called for strengthening hands-on training, led by local leaders and voluntary disaster response teams, to enhance on-site response capabilities.

Mayor Lee Kangdeok reiterated, "Natural disasters are directly linked to the lives of our citizens, so prevention and early response are of utmost importance," and stressed the need to thoroughly establish a proactive response system to ensure the safety of all residents.

After the meeting, Mayor Lee received reports on the status of the Dongbin Bridge project and preparations for the reopening of Songdo Beach, and personally inspected the main facilities of the Advanced Marine R&D Center to check the readiness for its opening.