Min Hyung-bae urges officials to share budget shortfalls, long-standing disputes

The Jeonnam-Gwangju Grand Transformation Planning Committee — the transition body for mayor-elect Min Hyung-bae of the Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City — received briefings from Gwangju city and South Jeolla Province on Wednesday as it began assessing the key operations of the integrated special city set to launch July 1.

The committee held the briefing sessions at its offices in the Bitgaram Culture and Sports Complex in Naju, South Jeolla Province.

Spanning two days through Thursday, the briefings are organized by sector — industry, welfare, planning, administration, construction, culture and environment — with each bureau and division of the two administrations presenting current conditions and outlining their strategies.

Wednesday morning focused on industry, the economy and agriculture. Gwangju's AI Industry Office, Economy and Startup Bureau, and Labor and Employment Policy Office presented alongside South Jeolla Province's Strategic Industry Bureau, Energy Industry Bureau, Corporate City Office, Investment Attraction Bureau, and Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Bureau.

Min campaigned on a pledge to develop advanced industries including semiconductors by leveraging South Jeolla Province's energy resources and Gwangju's AI infrastructure. He received particularly detailed briefings on the AI and energy sectors.

The two administrations also outlined strategies related to the AI National Data Center, AI infrastructure complexes and energy projects, as well as plans to develop an AI transformation demonstration valley.

Wednesday afternoon covered education, public relations, audit and welfare.

Thursday morning will include briefings on planning and administration, along with a report from the Jeonnam-Gwangju Administrative Integration Preparatory Task Force on the status of integration preparations. The task force will also seek Min's views on personnel matters and organizational restructuring.

Thursday afternoon is scheduled to cover safety, construction, tourism, culture, environment and maritime affairs.

Earlier, the two administrations separately briefed Min and the committee on 12 regional issues, including the launch of the integrated special city, the hosting of the Yeosu World Island Expo, corporate attraction efforts, the relocation of Gwangju's military airport, urban bus route restructuring, the transfer of public institutions, the construction of a waste-to-energy facility and the establishment of a national medical school in South Jeolla Province.

The two administrations plan to hear Min's and the committee's views on each of those issues.

Each administration has seconded 20 officials to the committee, for a combined support staff of 40.

"This is the first step in redrawing South Jeolla Province and Gwangju as a single economic zone and a single lifestyle zone," Min said. "We will build on what is working and solve what is stuck — together. Please share openly the budget shortfalls, institutional constraints and long-standing disputes."