From resident support tied to the Dongbok Dam expansion to attracting semiconductor materials and equipment firms — Hwasun-gun seeks cooperation for mutual growth.
Hwasun-gun County Chief Im Ji-rak met with South Jeolla-Gwangju Integrated Special City Mayor Min Hyeong-bae on Friday to present key local issues and request active support and cooperation for the county's sustainable development and mutual growth.
At the meeting, Im said Hwasun-gun "warmly welcomes" plans to use the Gwangju military airbase site in connection with the southwestern semiconductor cluster and pledged to cooperate toward shared goals with the integrated city. He also said that local issues including the Dongbok Dam expansion "necessarily involve sacrifices by Hwasun residents," and that concrete, practical measures for mutual benefit must come first.
On the Dongbok Dam expansion, Im identified securing community acceptance as the top priority, noting that three previous rounds of dam heightening had displaced many residents and accumulated grievances over the years.
Im called for social consensus through resident participation from the planning stage onward, and strongly demanded practical support measures to minimize harm to residents — including pension payments for displaced residents, low-cost pre-sales and rent-free leases at resettlement sites, and full compensation for remaining land parcels.
He also formally proposed establishing a working-level consultative body for mutual development that would include resident representatives from the dam countermeasures committee, to ensure ongoing communication and cooperation among relevant agencies.
Im also proposed attracting semiconductor materials, components and equipment companies, as well as research and development facilities, to Hwasun by leveraging the county's proximity to the military airbase site, with the aim of jointly building a semiconductor-related industry ecosystem for the Honam region. He noted that Hwasun lies within a 30-minute commute of the site and can supply industrial land at comparatively low cost.
Im stressed the importance of building a Gwangju-Hwasun metropolitan railway to form a unified living zone and promote balanced regional development following the launch of the South Jeolla-Gwangju Integrated Special City. He asked for cooperation in having the project included in the government's fifth national railway network development plan so it can move forward without delay.
Im also highlighted the hardships of areas that had seen early mine closures after 118 years of sacrifice in service of national industrial development, and requested support to ease economic stagnation and reduce the burden on local finances. He stressed that long-term rent-free use of the relevant site is essential to successfully carrying out an economic revitalization project for early mine-closure areas, and strongly urged the South Jeolla-Gwangju Integrated Special City to align with Hwasun-gun and take an active role in pressing the government on the matter.
"The issues raised today are tasks that must be resolved and pursued for Hwasun's sustainable future and the improvement of residents' quality of life," Im said Monday. "We will continue to communicate and collaborate closely with the South Jeolla-Gwangju Integrated Special City, and do our utmost to make Hwasun a hub of the southwestern semiconductor industry ecosystem and a key pillar of the unified living zone."
kkm9971@heraldcorp.com
