South Chungcheong governor shares provincial vision for Cheonan, pledging support for advanced industry, regional transit and other key development projects
South Chungcheong Province Governor Park Soo-hyun shared the provincial administration's direction for the ninth elected term with residents in Cheonan on Tuesday, pledging provincial-level support for the city's development — including the promotion of advanced industries, expansion of regional transit networks and the attraction of a national dental research institute.
Park conducted the 14th session of "Chungnam Tonghaeng," a series of public engagement events, beginning with a breakfast meeting with Cheonan Mayor Jang Ki-su before visiting the city council to exchange views with its leadership on local issues. Park then held a public dialogue at Bongseohall in Cheonan City Hall, attended by about 800 residents and others.
The event was hosted by firefighter Lee Seung-hun of the Cheonan Northwest Fire Station, and Park entered the hall to the song "Cheonan Is My Hometown" performed by singer Lee Jae-seop.
Park briefed attendees on progress made on citizen suggestions collected at a town hall meeting last June and answered questions and proposals raised at the event.
The province set up a "direct governor's field complaint office" to receive and consult on residents' everyday grievances and suggestions. Complaints filed will be reviewed by the relevant departments, with the province managing the process and outcomes.
The province will support technology development for companies in advanced packaging and testing, focusing on seven industrial complexes in Cheonan and Asan designated last September as a specialized complex for back-end semiconductor materials, components and equipment, with the aim of strengthening the back-end supply chain.
For the Seonghwan livestock station relocation site — selected as a candidate for a new national industrial complex — the province plans to prepare an application for a preliminary feasibility study and consult with the Korea Land and Housing Corporation and other relevant agencies on complex development and corporate attraction strategies.
The Cheonan-Asan AI pilot city project is being developed by the province and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, which are working on a master plan. The province will work with relevant agencies to flesh out AI services and demonstration measures applicable to residents' daily lives.
The province is also preparing application materials for a national dental research institute, working alongside Cheonan city and drawing on the educational and clinical foundation of Dankook University's College of Dentistry and dental hospital, as well as a candidate site secured near KTX Cheonan-Asan Station.
On regional transit, the province will jointly push for the extension of the GTX-C line to Cheonan and Asan and for the inclusion of a central-region east-west rail corridor in the fifth national railway network development plan, while petitioning the central government to pursue the GTX-C extension as a nationally funded project.
Renovation and expansion of Cheonan Station, which broke ground in April last year, is on track for completion in May 2028. For the KTX Cheonan-Asan Station regional multimodal transfer center — a project to expand transfer parking and bus and taxi facilities — the province plans to gather input from private companies before launching a bid for a project operator.
"We will join forces with Cheonan city so that the city's industrial base translates into corporate growth and jobs, and so that residents can feel real improvements in their commutes and daily transportation," Park said.
Park added that "the long-cherished projects of Cheonan are fair and justified national undertakings essential to the development of South Chungcheong Province and the Republic of Korea," vowing to "make every effort, together with the province's 2.14 million residents, to see them realized as soon as possible."
kwonhl@heraldcorp.com
