Min Hyung-bae, mayor of the Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City, said Monday he would "minimize the anxiety and confusion of the early integration period through civic sovereignty."
Speaking at the second extraordinary session of the Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City Council, held at the South Jeolla Provincial Assembly building, Min said residents "hold great expectations alongside no small amount of concern," and pledged to "connect citizens' proposals and council deliberations to policy and budget."
He said the council had passed an ordinance on global semiconductor strategic investment support for the integrated special city as its first piece of legislation upon its launch. "The integrated special city has also established the Jeonnam-Gwangju Semiconductor Strategy Committee to build a regional response framework, and has immediately organized and begun operating a dedicated Jeonnam-Gwangju Semiconductor Industry Support Group," he said.
"We will no longer just wait for companies to come to us," Min said, promising that Jeonnam-Gwangju would design a comprehensive package covering power supply, water supply, transportation and logistics networks, talent development and residential conditions.
Min said his first act after taking office was to approve a livelihood support and 100-day integration action plan, which included provisions for establishing and operating a balanced development fund. "The balanced development fund will serve as the first institutional mechanism to ensure that the fruits of integration do not remain confined to any particular area," he said.
He added that the city would raise minimum standards for transportation, healthcare, education and culture for residents of islands and rural and fishing communities, pledging to reduce gaps in emergency medical care, ease transportation inconveniences and fill blind spots in lifestyle services.
Min said the city was actively preparing organizational reforms and follow-up measures to reduce confusion in the early stages and push forward key tasks with momentum. "As soon as preparations are complete, we will brief the council fully and engage in discussions in good faith," he said.
"The first 100 days are both the time to lay the foundation of the special city and a so-called golden period in which we must demonstrate our direction and capacity for action to our citizens," Min said, calling on the council to work together so that the integrated special city's early foundation could be established "quickly, yet stably through sufficient deliberation."
sij@heraldcorp.com
