Daegu City Council Member Sohn Hanguk: "Daegu Stood By as a Bystander at the Gyeongju APEC"... Completely Excluded from the International Stage

A Sharp Critique in City Council's Five-Minute Speech
No Excuses for Complacency under Acting Mayor System

On December 15, Sohn Hanguk, a member of the Daegu City Council (People Power Party, Dalseong District 3), strongly criticized Daegu City's passive response to the hosting of the 2025 APEC Summit and called for a painful self-reflection during his five-minute free speech at the third plenary session of the 321st regular meeting.

Sohn pointed out, "According to an analysis by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the economic ripple effect of this APEC Summit amounts to 7.4 trillion won. While not only Gyeongju, the host city, but also Busan and Pohang have benefited, Daegu, as feared, was left with nothing." He opened his remarks by stating, "I strongly condemn Daegu City's lethargic response, which turned APEC into someone else's celebration."

Sohn Hanguk, Daegu City Councilor

Sohn continued, "Even though Daegu Airport is geographically close, the private jets of global CEOs and leaders all headed to Gimhae Airport, handing over both air routes and economic benefits to Busan." He criticized, "While other local governments enjoyed special advantages through sales diplomacy and related festivals, Daegu City, without even a dedicated department, limited its efforts to superficial actions such as subway wrapping and SNS events, thereby kicking away even the opportunities that came its way."

Furthermore, Sohn pointed out, "Even though global big tech CEOs like Jensen Huang visited Korea, there was not even a strategy to link them with Daegu's core industries such as robotics and AI." He raised his voice, saying, "While Daegu and Gyeongbuk talk about integration in words, when it comes to actual cooperation, they remain bystanders, watching from across the river, which has effectively paralyzed the function of the economic community."

He emphasized, "The acting mayor system cannot be an excuse for complacency," and urged Daegu City, "Even now, a 'post-APEC' strategy must be established, and follow-up linked tourism products should be immediately developed to attract foreign tourists visiting Gyeongju to Daegu."

Sohn Hanguk proposed, "Instead of just talking about integration, a concrete cooperation manual should be established for the division of roles and sharing of benefits during large-scale international events," and stressed, "This failure must serve as a painful lesson so that Daegu will never again be completely excluded and humiliated on the international stage."