North Gyeongsang Province holds second rally to push for public institution relocations

North Gyeongsang Province held its second rally Tuesday to press for the relocation of public institutions to the region, gathering more than 100 officials — including members of the provincial public institution attraction committee and relevant bureau and division chiefs — at Hwaebaekdang Hall in the provincial government building in Andong.

The province has designated roughly 40 institutions as "strategic targets," selected based on their alignment with national balanced-development policies such as the five-pole, three-special framework and their potential to concentrate advanced industries in the region.

The province plans to attract 15 key institutions to build an advanced industry hub, drawing on its semiconductor, secondary battery and nuclear power ecosystems. Targets include the Korea Institute of Science and Technology, the Korea Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning Institute and the Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology.

Leveraging the road, transportation, postal and procurement functions already clustered in Gimcheon Innovation City, the province also aims to attract 13 institutions — including the Korea Agency for Infrastructure Technology Advancement, the Road Traffic Research Institute and the Post Office Logistics Support Group — to develop the area into a logistics and retail hub.

Building on its status as the nation's largest agricultural and forestry production region, the province plans to recruit six institutions — including the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation, the Korea Racing Authority and the National Institute of Forest Science — to establish an agri-bio and food technology platform.

The province has also designated the Korea Institute of Child Care and Education, the Korea Arts and Culture Education Service and the Korean Institute for Gender Equality Promotion and Education as relocation targets, citing the region's strong transportation network.

"We will build a successful model that maximizes synergies between relocated public institutions and local industries, in order to ease the concentration of resources in the greater Seoul area and create a Korea where prosperity is shared across the country," North Gyeongsang Province Gov. Lee Cheol-woo said.