The South Jeolla-Gwangju Integrated Special City convened the inaugural meeting of its Muan-gun Support Project Task Force at Gwangju City Hall on Friday, discussing ways the special city can support national projects that Muan-gun has requested.
The task force was formed to swiftly follow through on commitments made after Mayor Min Hyeong-bae met with Muan County Chief Kim San on Aug. 8. At that meeting, Min and Kim agreed to cooperate on the military airbase relocation and other issues to ensure the success of the Honam region's semiconductor cluster.
At Friday's inaugural session, the task force shared details of major support projects that Muan-gun is pursuing or has proposed to central government ministries in connection with the airbase relocation, and discussed ways the special city and Muan-gun could advance negotiations with those ministries through joint coordination.
The task force is headed by Vice Mayor for Safety and Livelihoods Ko Gwang-wan, with relevant bureau and department heads joining for their respective projects. Muan-gun is represented by its deputy county chief.
The meeting opened with a briefing on Muan-gun's national support projects, followed by a review of administrative support measures prepared by each department and bureau.
The national support projects for Muan-gun cover areas directly tied to the county's development, including the three prerequisite conditions for the military airbase relocation — among them the creation of a national industrial complex — as well as agricultural and fisheries research facilities, urban development, energy and future industries.
The South Jeolla-Gwangju Integrated Special City plans to use the task force to build a close cooperative framework with Muan-gun, continuously monitor local issues related to the airbase relocation and develop concrete support measures. It also intends to share progress on individual projects and strengthen inter-agency collaboration to ensure that support projects Muan-gun needs are carried out in a timely manner.
"Practical support for the area receiving the relocated base is essential to accelerating the airbase move, and mutual cooperation to make that happen is critical," Vice Mayor Ko said. "We will focus the special city's administrative capacity on ensuring that the projects Muan-gun has requested from the government move forward."
sij@heraldcorp.com
