Interior minister chairs comprehensive launch readiness review for South Jeolla-Gwangju integrated special city

Minister of Interior and Safety Yun Ho-jung delivers opening remarks at a comprehensive launch readiness review for the South Jeolla-Gwangju integrated special city, held Monday morning at the Government Sejong Building. [Ministry of Interior and Safety]
Minister of Interior and Safety Yun Ho-jung delivers opening remarks at a comprehensive launch readiness review for the South Jeolla-Gwangju integrated special city, held Monday morning at the Government Sejong Building. [Ministry of Interior and Safety]

The Ministry of Interior and Safety held a comprehensive launch readiness review for the South Jeolla-Gwangju integrated special city on Monday, chaired by Minister Yun Ho-jung.

The meeting was attended by South Jeolla Province Deputy Governor Hwang Gi-yeon, Gwangju Metropolitan City Deputy Mayor Ko Gwang-wan, and representatives from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the National Tax Service and the Korea Local Information Research and Development Institute.

The review was convened ahead of the July 1 launch of the integrated special city — the first of its kind in the country — to assess preparations across all relevant areas.

Minister Yun reviewed the status of subordinate legislation being drafted or revised under the Special Act on the Establishment of the South Jeolla-Gwangju Integrated Special City and the progress of launch preparation bodies, including the inter-provincial policy consultative body and the South Jeolla-Gwangju Integrated Special City Preparatory Committee. He also examined integration work covering municipal bylaws, organizational structure, personnel, budgets, and official seals and records.

Participants agreed on the scope of municipal bylaws designated as priority revision targets, deciding to revise them in bulk at the first extraordinary session of the assembly to be held on the city's launch date. Where further adjustments are needed, additional revisions will be carried out in stages.

Directional and informational signage that residents encounter in daily life will also be updated promptly in line with the priority revision criteria.

The meeting also focused on ensuring that integrated public-service information systems — which directly affect residents' daily lives — are stably operational by the launch date.

Acknowledging that some public-facing services may face unavoidable temporary interruptions during the integration process, officials agreed to keep any downtime to a minimum. Work that cannot be avoided will be scheduled during holidays or overnight hours to reduce inconvenience to residents.

When service interruptions occur, essential information — including the nature and duration of the outage and available alternatives — will be communicated in advance through social media and other channels so residents are sufficiently informed.

Officials also agreed to establish an inter-agency emergency response plan to handle any information system failures around the launch date and to activate an emergency response team for real-time monitoring and rapid response.

"Given the high level of public attention and expectation, we will thoroughly review our preparations over the remaining 15 days to ensure the South Jeolla-Gwangju integrated special city launches successfully," Minister Yun said. "Public-facing services directly affect residents' daily lives, so we must provide sufficient advance notice and leave no gaps in our preparations to prevent confusion and inconvenience."


thlee@heraldcorp.com