Jinju Achieves Top Grade in 2025 Integrity Evaluation
77.7% Positive Response in Municipal Satisfaction Survey
Second Relocation of Capital Area Public Institutions to Innovation City
Emphasis on Strengthening Win-Win Cooperation with Sacheon
Jinju City in South Gyeongsang Province (Mayor Cho Gyuil) officially announced its future growth strategy centered on the aerospace industry and its direction for municipal administration to enhance citizens' quality of life during the 2026 New Year's press conference held in the city hall briefing room on December 31.
At the press conference, Mayor Cho Gyuil of Jinju City stated, "The past year was a meaningful time in which we achieved valuable results with the active participation and support of our citizens," and first introduced the major municipal achievements of 2025.
Jinju City became the first local government in the country to successfully launch and operate the ultra-small satellite 'JinjuSat-1B,' taking the lead in the satellite industry. The city also achieved tangible, citizen-focused results such as constructing the Jinju Silk Museum, receiving an A grade in the potable water disaster management assessment, opening the Hamo Children's Hospital, being re-designated as a women-friendly city, establishing the Yudeung Creative Center Bit Maru, opening the Namseongdang Education Center, and creating the Seongbuk-dong Child Welfare Center. Additionally, Jinju secured government funding for the basic design of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Jinju Branch and achieved annual sales of 5 billion won through its agricultural specialty product shopping mall, among other significant accomplishments in various fields.
Based on these achievements, the city’s total fertility rate, which had been on the decline, has recently begun to rebound. Jinju has also been recognized for its urban competitiveness and sustainability, winning the Urban Grand Prize for six consecutive years and the Urban Regional Innovation Grand Prize for two consecutive years, achieving the highest level of recognition nationwide.
Mayor Cho went on to say, "We will make 2026 a year of 'great fortune in all things' and move forward toward a greater future," adding, "We will connect the foundations we have built so far to tangible results and open the era of a prosperous Jinju by 2030."
■ Full-scale Promotion of Old Downtown Revitalization and Regional Balanced Development
First, to revitalize the stagnant old downtown, the city will complete the Youth Hub House and Imagination Remake Center in the Seongbuk and Jungang districts, as well as the Youth Stay Center and JAR Harmony Center in the Mangyeong and Gangnam districts by 2026.
In addition, Jinju plans to accelerate the construction of the JinjuN Creative Culture Center, a multi-purpose cultural space, Jinju History Museum, multi-purpose cultural center, and the public Aerospace Science Museum.
Through the development of the Munsan public housing district and rural agreement projects, the city aims to achieve balanced urban development where both urban and rural areas grow together.
■ Establishment of a Stay-Type Tourism City through Four Major Tourism Themes
The city will strengthen its tourism competitiveness by focusing on four major tourism themes: Green Tourism, Patriotic Tourism, Lantern Tourism, and Night Tourism.
Jinju plans to create the Woleosan Forest Jinju, Jinyang Lake Park, and Mangyeong Park area as a Green Tourism Belt; develop Mangjinsan Beacon Mound, Jinju Fortress Patriotic Maru, and Yudeung Creative Center Bit Maru as Patriotic Tourism themes; and establish Somang Jinsan Lantern Park, Nam River Lantern Exhibition Hall, Bit Maru, and the Lantern Storage Bit Damso as Lantern Tourism themes.
Furthermore, the city will continue to expand night tourism content that makes people want to stay, based on specialized projects such as National Heritage Media Art, Candlelight Concerts, and Nam River Starry Night Picnics.
In particular, in 2026, Jinju plans to further enhance its sports city brand by hosting the Asia Esports Championship and the Presidential Cup Fencing Championship.
■ Creation of High-Quality Jobs through Future Growth Engines such as the Aerospace Industry
Building on the successful launch and operation of the ultra-small satellite 'JinjuSat-1B,' Jinju will establish a space environmental testing facility and a ground station with a satellite antenna, and launch 'JinjuSat-2' in 2027, thereby building an integrated satellite industry ecosystem that encompasses satellite development, operation, and data utilization.
Additionally, the city plans to develop an AAV (Advanced Air Vehicle) Demonstration Center in the first half of the year, in connection with the KAI Rotary Wing Flight Center, making Jinju the first nationwide production base for AAVs.
Jinju will also establish a full-cycle standardization hub for natural materials at the Munsan Bio-Industry Specialized Agro-Industrial Complex and secure over 100 additional innovative startup spaces by 2027 through the Green Start Uptown and Green Bio Venture Campus.
■ Strengthening Municipal Administration Felt by Citizens in Areas Such as Transportation and Safety
Building on the nationwide first implementation in 2025 of a wide-area transfer discount system for all modes of transportation, the 100-won bus fare system for children and adolescents, and the introduction of the Hamo Call Bus, Jinju will continue to innovate public transportation. From 2026, the city will work with relevant agencies to ensure the timely opening of the Southern Inland Railway and promote the inclusion of the Jinju Jeongchon to Sacheon Chukdong Road construction project in the national plan to improve regional accessibility.
Jinju will also begin detailed design for the construction of a public parking tower near the railway station, and aims to complete by 2026 the Ihyeon-dong public parking lot, Chilam-dong parking tower, pedestrian overpass in front of Eunhasu Elementary School, and Jiphyeon city bus public garage projects.
In addition, the city will strengthen its safe urban infrastructure through projects such as the expansion and paving of the Saebyeori Road at Gaeyang Five-Way Intersection, restoration of damage from heavy rainfall, establishment of a disaster prevention system along the Nam River, modernization of local water supply systems in five eastern towns, and maintenance of old water supply networks in Sangdae, Hadae, and Sangpyeong.
■ Realization of Welfare for All Social Classes
To ensure that elderly citizens facing difficulties in daily life can spend their later years comfortably in familiar surroundings, Jinju will implement integrated medical and nursing care services and plans to open the Ribbon Center, a multi-purpose cultural space for the middle-aged, in the first half of the year.
The city will also enhance accessibility to care for people with developmental disabilities by operating vacation care programs and expanding weekly activity centers in the southeastern region. In addition, the Glocal Harmony Center, a family center in Sangdae-dong, will be established to help multicultural families settle in the community.
Following the re-designation as a women-friendly city and re-certification as a family-friendly institution in 2025, Jinju will prepare for higher-level certification as a UNICEF Child-Friendly City and pursue re-certification as a WHO Age-Friendly City, thereby realizing an inclusive city.
Jinju will continue to discover and expand effective policies such as support for obtaining driver's licenses and youth employment support for small and medium-sized enterprises.
■ Second Relocation of Public Institutions in the Capital Area and Strengthening Win-Win Cooperation with Sacheon
To facilitate the second relocation of public institutions to the Jinju Innovation City, the city has formed and is operating its own task force, and plans to secure the foundation for the relocation of institutions and strengthen cooperation with relevant organizations by utilizing the Munsan public housing district and other areas.
In addition, according to a public opinion poll conducted last October, 80.9% of Jinju citizens and 56.6% of Sacheon citizens supported administrative integration between Sacheon and Jinju. Based on this, the city presented a plan to further strengthen cooperation with Sacheon, establish an aerospace complex city, and become a key hub for national balanced development.
In conclusion, Mayor Cho Gyuil stated, "In the 2025 public institution integrity evaluation, Jinju City achieved the highest grade, Comprehensive Grade 1, and in the 8th popularly elected administration's administrative service satisfaction survey, 77.7% of citizens responded positively. We will use the new year of 2026 as a stepping stone toward a prosperous Jinju, making the vision of a central city in the southern region and a prosperous Jinju with a population of one million a reality for our happy citizens."
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