Gangneung Mayor Kim Jung-nam visited the National Assembly on Friday and met with Han Byung-do, acting leader and floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, Finance and Economy Planning Committee Chairman Cho Seung-rae, and Assembly member Kim Woo-young, asking for their active support on the city's key pending projects.
During the meetings, Kim outlined three priorities and called for attention and support at the Assembly level: the successful hosting of the 2026 Gangneung ITS World Congress — dubbed the "ITS Olympics" — the passage of a preliminary feasibility study for a natural-product biotech national industrial complex, and the inclusion of a National Highway 7 expansion project in the sixth national and local road construction plan.
On the 2026 Gangneung ITS World Congress, scheduled for October, Kim asked for active cooperation and support — including attendance by President Lee Jae-myung — to ensure the event's success.
Kim also said it was urgent that the preliminary feasibility study for the natural-product biotech national industrial complex be approved without delay. The complex is the only one among 14 national industrial complex candidate sites to have been designated as an opportunity development zone, and Kim said it must be established as a hub driving balanced development across the Yeongdong region.
"For Gangneung's future-defining projects to move forward on time, the backing of the central government and the National Assembly is essential," the mayor said. "I will continue to visit the Assembly and government ministries to do my utmost to deliver results that citizens can feel."
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