Gwangju Mayor Yoon Jang-hyun said Gwangju Metropolitan City will strive to come up with their own steps to create jobs and foster the development of the eco-friendly auto, new energy and cultural content industries to cope with the advent of the 4th Industrial Revolution.

Mayor Yoon of the Gwanju Metropolitan City government made the remarks while delivering an opening speech at an integrated management workshop hosted by the Korea Academic Society of Business Administration (KASBA) at the Kimdaejung Convention Center in Gwangju on Aug. 22.

Gwangju Metropolitan City’s own steps to create jobs involve “proper wage levels” set through a grand compromise among labor, management, private sector and government circles, and the providing of job security to workers, he said. “These will be designed to ease bipolarization in income gaps, overcome so-called youth employment cliff and discourage companies to relocate their plants abroad. 

Mayor Yoon said Gwangju Metropolitan City aims to make itself a business-friendly city by implementing “win-win strategies” for labor and management to attract a diverse array of Korean and foreign companies. Of late, Dayou Winia decided to relocate its production center and headquarters to Gwangju Metropolitan City. 

He explained a plan to establish an eco-friendly automobile valley to attract eco-friendly car parts makers. In cooperation with Korea Electric Power Corp., Gwangju Metropolitan City will devote itself to nurturing the smart energy industries to attract a variety of energy companies. 

The mayor gave an explanation to the metropolitan city government’s plan to establish a culture content valley by newly adding a VR content production cluster and the Korea Culture Technology Institute to the Gwangju CGI Center, Asia’s representative visual effect production studio, which was set up in Songha-dong, Gwangju, in 2012. 

Mayor Yoon also revealed a plan to transform a former military airport into a “smart city.” The plan calls for implementing e-administration via big data and “Mobile Gwangju” and make the operation of such city facilities related to transportation and safety AI activated (“intelligent.”)

The mayor stressed the significance of making Gwangju a preferred destination for venture companies. To this end, he said the metropolitan government has inaugurated a startup network, a special guaranty for youth startups, and a youth startup fund. Gwanju has also established the I-LLEX,” a youth startup venture platform.  

The workshop coincided with a diverse array of side events, which appealed to not only scholars, university undergraduates and academic officials but also their family members. About 90 KASBA members and their family members toured the publicity hall of Kia Motors’ Gwangju plant and the Soul production line. 

They also visited Champions Field, home of the pro baseball team Kia Tigers. Prof. Lee Doo-hee of Korea University, who will serve as the next KASBA chairman, said the events were designed to help the KASBA communicate with the general public, not just those on campus.