City to push hard for second relocation of public institutions, headquarters of state power firms

Closer cooperation with Sacheon pledged: 'We will create Jinju's third miracle'

Mayor Cho Kyu-il holds a press conference at the city hall briefing room Thursday to outline his administrative vision for his third term. [Jinju City]
Mayor Cho Kyu-il holds a press conference at the city hall briefing room Thursday to outline his administrative vision for his third term. [Jinju City]

Cho Kyu-il, who won a third term as mayor of Jinju as an independent in the June 3 local elections, unveiled his administrative vision for the term, centering on developing the aerospace industry and building a cooperative relationship with neighboring Sacheon.

Cho held a victory press conference at the city hall briefing room Thursday, saying the win "belongs not to me personally, but to all citizens of Jinju." He pledged to run a citizen-centered administration grounded in unity and harmony.

He also signaled a willingness to govern collaboratively, saying he would actively review strong policy proposals put forward by rival candidates during the campaign and incorporate them into city governance.

Cho identified aerospace industry development as the central task of his third term. During his previous term, Jinju secured the launch of a nano-satellite and attracted the Korea Aerospace Industries rotary-wing flight center. The city now plans to move forward with completing a future aircraft demonstration center and building an AI-based safety evaluation platform for next-generation aircraft.

Cho particularly stressed cooperation with Sacheon, home to the Korea AeroSpace Administration. He said the two cities would jointly develop the aerospace industry ecosystem, push ahead with construction of a bypass road along National Route 33, and work closely together on building a wide-area waste incineration facility.

Attracting public institutions to boost the local economy is another priority. Jinju plans to work with South Gyeongsang Province to actively pursue the second relocation of public institutions from the Greater Seoul area, and to strengthen cooperation with Korea South-East Power and others to bring the integrated headquarters of state-owned power companies to the city's innovation district.

The city also plans to build up its urban infrastructure ahead of the opening of the Southern Inland Railway. It envisions developing the area behind the new Jinju station transit-oriented area and a passenger bus terminal to establish Jinju as a transportation and transit hub for western South Gyeongsang Province. The city also plans to revitalize the stagnant old downtown by reviewing a partial relocation of city hall functions, expanding public parking and easing building regulations.

Jinju plans to hold a campaign pledge implementation briefing this month to finalize priorities for each project, with those that can be fast-tracked to be included in a supplementary budget in September.

"Jinju stands at an important turning point from which it can leap into the future," Cho said. "I will create a city centered on aerospace — one where young people return and businesses come — and together with our citizens, achieve Jinju's third miracle."


ook967@heraldcorp.com