Daegu names new heads of transit, urban development corporations

Daegu city announced Monday it has tapped Han Geun-su, director of the future mobility research division at Daegu Metropolitan Transit Corp., as the incoming president of the transit corporation, and Lee Jae-yong, former head of the Korea Land and Housing Corp.'s Daegu-North Gyeongsang Province regional headquarters, as the incoming president of Daegu Urban Development Corp.

The city began forming a public corporation executive recommendation committee in early July, followed by open recruitment, document screening and interviews. The transit corporation then recommended three candidates to the city, while the urban development corporation put forward two.

Han graduated from Hanyang University and carried out numerous transportation policy research projects at the Daegu-Gyeongbuk Research Institute, including feasibility studies on extending urban rail Line 3 and plans for building a wider metropolitan rail network in the Daegu area. He also served as head of the city's new airport research team and as urban spatial policy director, and is regarded as an expert with broad research and on-the-ground experience in regional transportation.

Lee studied urban engineering at Keimyung University, earned a master's degree in urban planning from Hanyang University and completed doctoral coursework in urban planning at Dankook University. He currently serves as an adjunct professor in the urban planning department at Keimyung University. Having spent roughly 36 years at the Korea Land and Housing Corp. in roles including land development planning chief, industrial complex director, urban regeneration planning director and Daegu-North Gyeongsang Province regional head, he was assessed as the right person to advance projects such as the Daegu-Gyeongbuk new airport, military base relocation and industrial complex development.

The city plans to formally appoint both designees in early October, after completing background checks and holding confirmation hearings at the Daegu City Council.