Pohang mayor at 100-day mark vows to push maritime route for Yeongil Bay Bridge

Pohang Mayor Park Yong-seon said Tuesday he would complete a "full transportation transformation" of the city by securing a maritime route for the Yeongil Bay Bridge, a long-sought infrastructure project for the region.

Park made the remarks at a press conference marking the 100th day of the ninth directly elected city administration, held Tuesday morning at city hall, where he made clear his determination to push through the maritime alignment for the bridge.

On an inland bypass route that some within the government have recently been considering, Park drew a firm line. "An inland route where citizens pay tolls to take a detour has absolutely no practical value," he said. "We cannot accept it under any circumstances."

He added that no route has been officially confirmed, noting that the Korea Development Institute is reviewing the inland option as the "optimal" alternative. "We are working to have the word 'optimal' removed from that characterization," he said.

Park also raised sharp criticism of recent local festivals, including the Guryongpo Sunrise Noodle Festival and the Nakwha Festival at the Pohang Canal.

"A series of large-scale festivals have been held in Pohang recently, but the quality has fallen short relative to the budgets invested, and they have done little to stimulate the local economy," he said.

He said major festivals and signature events must be planned from the outset with distinctive content and operational strategies that reflect Pohang's unique character. "Going forward, any related organization or event agency that fails to meet that standard will never set foot in Pohang again," he said.

On the planned confirmation hearings for heads of city-affiliated institutions, to be held by the Pohang City Council, Park said the council had moved to enact a hearing ordinance as its first order of business after he took office. "We agreed to accept it, and the first subject of the hearing has been set as the chairman of the Pohang Facilities Management Corporation," he said.

Regarding his goal of building a living-zone population of 1 million for Pohang, Park said a city of 500,000 faces inherent limits to growth in an era of population decline. "The idea is to expand facilities and create conditions that draw large numbers of people to settle and live in Pohang," he said.

On organizational restructuring, Park said the city's structure needs to better align with that of North Gyeongsang Province. He noted a mismatch in which Pohang has a culture and arts division while the provincial government has a culture, sports and tourism bureau, making communication between department heads difficult. "Pohang is called a steel city, yet there is no steel division in the city organization," he said. "We intend to make changes."

Addressing the lack of a large public square in central Pohang capable of hosting major festivals, Park said the city is considering leasing or purchasing a former railway site of roughly 36,300 square meters on the opposite side of the old Pohang station.

In closing, Park said the city would pursue industrial, livelihood and urban transformation to build toward a living-zone population of 1 million, improving the investment and residential environment to promote industry and tourism. "We will prepare for citizens' today and Pohang's future together," he said.