CHANGWON — South Gyeongsang Province Governor Park Wan-su and Kim Kyoung-soo, special presidential adviser for political affairs, met for the first time since the launch of the ninth popularly elected local government. At the meeting, Kim said there "can be no party lines when it comes to developing South Gyeongsang Province," pledging to cooperate on resolving regional issues.
The provincial government said the two met at the provincial office on the afternoon of the 12th to share key regional issues and discuss government-level support and cooperation. It was their first official meeting.
The meeting followed Kim's appointment. Park called to congratulate him shortly after the appointment and proposed they meet. Kim previously served as governor of South Gyeongsang Province during the seventh popularly elected local government.
Park called for a second round of public agency relocations linked to the province's industrial base. He argued that additional agencies such as the Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology (KIAT) should be brought to the South Gyeongsang Innovation City, which already hosts the Korea Land & Housing Corporation (LH) and the Korea Testing Laboratory (KTL). He also noted that relocations should be tied to the competitiveness of South Gyeongsang Province, where national strategic industries including shipbuilding, defense, aerospace and nuclear power are concentrated.
The requests also included hosting an integrated headquarters for state-run power generation companies. The provincial government said using existing facilities and the energy industry base at the South Gyeongsang Innovation City, home to Korea South-East Power's headquarters, would cut relocation costs and strengthen links with related industries.
Park also conveyed the need to keep the Republic of Korea Naval Academy in Jinhae. The provincial government's position is that the academy should remain there to maintain the professionalism of naval education and promote balanced regional development.
Park requested the enactment of a special law on the construction and support of an aerospace complex city, as well as a special law on development of the southern coastal region. The province considers both bills as measures to underpin joint development of South Gyeongsang Province, South Jeolla Province and other areas across the Yeongnam and Honam regions. He also asked the central government to designate South Gyeongsang Province — where advanced manufacturing industries such as aerospace, shipbuilding and robotics are clustered — as the first mega special zone in the southeastern region.
After the meeting, Kim told reporters that he had proposed that Busan, Ulsan and South Gyeongsang Province join forces to attract public agencies. "For example, Ulsan could host an integrated headquarters for energy, and South Gyeongsang Province an integrated headquarters for power generation companies — the point is that they should cooperate with each other," he said.
The provincial government said it will continue to communicate with the central government, the National Assembly and related agencies to resolve key issues.