Democratic Party holds leadership meeting in conservative stronghold of Gumi

The Democratic Party of Korea held a field supreme council meeting Monday in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province — a traditional conservative stronghold — as part of a push to win over voters in the Daegu-North Gyeongsang (TK) region. The party put AI and robot industry development, youth job creation and public institution relocations at the forefront in what analysts see as an effort to broaden its relatively weak base in the area.

Speaking at the meeting at Hotel Geumosan in Gumi, Democratic Party leader Kim Min-seok said Gumi must become the hub of AI and robot industries and youth employment to revitalize all of North Gyeongsang Province, which faces a population decline crisis across many of its communities. "The Democratic Party will actively back that with legislation and budgets," Kim said.

Kim said more than 3,000 companies are based at the Gumi National Industrial Complex, underpinning South Korea's manufacturing sector. "Gumi has served as the center of manufacturing for over 50 years and must now prepare for a new leap forward, building on its solid industrial infrastructure in electronics, machinery and equipment," he said.

Kim also cited the government's designation of the Daegu-North Gyeongsang region as a national advanced industry cluster for robotics in September, predicting that Gumi would become a hub for robot core components and AI-driven manufacturing transformation, leveraging its materials, parts and equipment industries. A total of 24.6 billion won ($18.1 million), including national funds, is set to be invested in the Gumi National Industrial Complex by 2029.

"We will actively integrate AI technology and support the spread of manufacturing innovation to small and medium-sized enterprises," Kim said. "We will also carefully attend to the budgets and policies needed to strengthen Gumi's industrial competitiveness, including improvements to transportation and logistics infrastructure and the training of skilled workers."

Youth job creation was also presented as a key priority. The Ministry of Employment and Labor plans to introduce next year a first-employment support program for 160,000 young people, offering career counseling, hands-on work experience, vocational training and job placement assistance.

"The state must take responsibility for young people's first jobs," Kim said. "We need to narrow the employment gap between large corporations and small and medium-sized enterprises, and create more good jobs in the regions that young people want."

Democratic Party floor leader Han Byung-do also pledged support for regional industry development and balanced national development. "North Gyeongsang Province is the backbone of South Korea's industry," Han said. "The robot industrial complexes in Gumi and Pohang are strategic bases that will lead the AI transformation of manufacturing."

Han said the National Assembly's special committee on broad metropolitan special zones would support the expansion of power and infrastructure and the cultivation of talent. "The Democratic Party will lead the way in bipartisan cooperation for the future of North Gyeongsang Province," he said.

Han identified North Gyeongsang Province as a key region for implementing the Lee Jae Myung government's "5 poles, 3 specials" balanced national development strategy, and emphasized the second round of public institution relocations. "We will improve transportation access and living conditions in Gimcheon Innovation City and push ahead without delay with the second round of public institution relocations," he said. "We have come down ahead of next year's budget review, so we will listen carefully to the voices from the field. Every word spoken here will serve as a benchmark for our review."

The party also announced plans to expand fire department funding on the occasion of Fire Service Day. Kim said the party and government agreed at a senior party-government consultative meeting Sunday on providing fiscal support for essential fire-related investment and easing the financial burden on local governments.

"We will expand national subsidy support for fire facilities and equipment, diversify fire funding sources and continue to build up fire department finances," Kim said. He added that the matter would be developed further through a pan-government fiscal decentralization TF, and that the party would form its own special committee on fiscal decentralization to actively support the effort. "We will save the youth, save Gumi, save North Gyeongsang Province and save the South Korean economy," he said.