Gyeongsangbuk-do Gov. Lee Cheol-woo. (Photos: Gyeongsangbuk-do Gov)

Gyeongsangbuk-do Gov. Lee Cheol-woo said, “I’m devoting myself to making good on promises to help the province find a way to make a living and make it the center of Korea.”

Reflecting on his first year in office, Gov. Lee said he has spearheaded innovation in the principal government’s administration. The governor’s removal of authoritative manners has begun to make provincial officials more resident-oriented, not turning to the governor, he said.

Gov. Lee said Gyeongsasngbuk-do has attracted investments worth 4.67 trillion won, while accelerating efforts to lure more companies by working out the so-called “Gyeongbuk-style job creation model.” The following are excerpts of an interview between NewsWorld and Gov. Lee in which he spoke of his administration’s tasks and future direction.

Question: Please look back at your first year in office?

Answer: I’ve been so busy to the extent I do not know how one year has passed. After taking office, I initially spent much time diagnosing the reality and conceiving development plans. I’ve done my best every day as I get up at 5 a.m. and I return home at midnight. I’ve made the rounds equivalent to a monthly average 10,000 km, about the same distance as circulating the Earth three times yearly.

I always wear sneakers and windbreakers instead of jackets or leather shoes, given the stark reality of Gyeongsasngbuk-do.

I’m heavy-hearted to see the hard times in all places of the province, such as traditional markets, plants and farming villages. I’m more worried over a declining population. The province ranked 1st and 2nd in terms of population in the 1960s and 1970s, but its population has now shrunk to the extent in which it would be mentioned as the first to go extinct. Last year, 13,260 youth left the province. Its natural population decline stood at as many as 6,200.

The central government is focusing on the Seoul metropolitan area, but local autonomy is flat. Local governments are elected, but no fiscal or authority changes. We can’t liven up the province without fixing our problems.

Gyeongsangbuk-do has more unrivalled potential and reserved strength than any other, however. Provincial people are determined and local government officials are excellent. I’m devoting myself to making good on promises to help the province find a way to make a living and make it the center of Korea.

Q: Will you explain the achievements you’ve made for the year?

A: Upon taking office, I formed a committee with 109 experts and laid the groundwork for the development of the province. The province, setting the catchphrase “New Wind, Happy Gyeongbuk,” designated and has implemented four major tasks – jobs, babies, tourism and welfare.

Gyeongsangbuk-do has attracted investments worth 4.67 trillion won, while accelerating efforts to lure more companies by working out “Gyeongbuk-style job creation model.” The Gyeongbuk Culture and Tourism Organization has been established, and the provincial government is cooperating with 23 cities and counties to raise a fund of up to 100 billion won to reinvigorate the culture and tourism industry.

 
An agriculture & food distribution education & promotion institute was inaugurated to push the revival of agricultural villages like the creation of a state-initiated smart farm innovation valley in Sangju. A “good neighbor village” pilot project designed to overcome low birth rates and regional extinction is progressing well. Furthermore, SOC, welfare and other projects have begun to yield tangible outcomes.

Above all, the winds of change have begun to been seen by public officials. The provincial government has been shifting organization paradigm from protocol and formality to a task-oriented one. Governor’s protocol vehicle has been disposed of, and the office has been reduced to make room for a meeting space for provincial residents.

The governor's removal of authoritative manners has begun to make provincial government officials more resident-oriented, not turning to the governor. It is also noteworthy that the Eastern Gyeongbuk Provincial Government building has been opened to promote balanced development and make preparations for the opening of the “East Coast Era.”

Q: Will you give details on the Gyeongbuk-style job creation model?

A: The Gyeongbuk-style job creation model is a shared growth-oriented job creation program designed to meet corporate needs and spur investments. It takes a format of providing support to companies who want to receive from a corporate perspective, instead of from the provincial government administration.

Land is offered for free. And on top of special subsidies corresponding to the size of investments and employment, support for all things such as infrastructure, manpower, staff housing and the shared growth companies want is provided to attract companies and create jobs. In a word, it is a job creation-oriented strategy, so the model differs from Gwangju-style job-sharing model.

LG Chem’s EV battery project is a Gumi-based version of the Gyeongbuk-style job creation model. The provincial government plans to provide full support to the successful attraction of LG Chem so that many good jobs can be created through shared growth with the region, and the economy of Gumi can be reinvigorated. With the first step of the Gumi job creation version done, we plan to evolve the Gyeongbuk-style job creation model to Pohang and Gyeongju.

Looking at the U.S. strategies to attract investments, the United States is a business-friendly nation. For instance, the state government plunked down up to 1.4 trillion won for building plant infrastructure such as entrance roads, tap water and waste water networks in return for Kia Motors’ investing 1.2 trillion won. Our nation has to follow suit the same way.

The provincial government, focusing on job creation, will provide its utmost support until Gyeongsangbuk-do is mentioned as a business-friendly one.

Q: What is the progress of a pilot project to build a good neighbor village?

A: It is necessary to try in an innovative fashion to overcome low birth rates and regional extinction. A projected good neighbor village is designed to overcome regional extinction and build growth foundation for farming villages. It is designed to create an environment suitable for an influx of youth through job creation and the improving of living conditions, and a housing complex will be built according to the speed of inflow.

For this year, 16.5 billion won is set aside for the implementation of 19 tasks out of 24. A good neighbor support center has opened, and a smart farm and a companion animal center will be dedicated in the second half. Job creation projects are being launched. Fifty students undergo a training program on smart farms.

Nine youth of four teams have been selected for a job creation pilot project for supporting youth startups, and four more are to be selected. We’re launching a regional job creation project for regional shared growth in cooperation with the Seoul Metropolitan Government in August. The provincial government plans to undertake a project to build 44 units for temporary housing pace this year. The companion animal center, to be dedicated by November, is to be open to the public next April.

An exemplary village, selected in a contest hosted by the Presidential Committee for National Balanced Development, will be offered 10 billion won in state subsidies for three years. The village needs not only jobs for an inflow of youth but also cultural facilities not inferior to those of cities. We strive to make the project a success and spread it to other regions so that the province’s villages can be enlivened, not disappearing.

Gyeongsangbuk-do Gov. Lee Cheol-woo joins hands side by side with city majors and university presidents at a ceremony to sign an agreement on the Gyeongbuk-style university job creation center at the Gyeongsangbuk-do provincial government building on April 1.

Q: Will you comment on the significance of the opening of the Eastern Gyeongbuk Provincial Government building in May?

A: The opening of the Eastern Gyeongbuk Provincial Government building is designed to eliminate inconveniences residents in the East Coast area have experienced since 2016 when the provincial government was relocated to Andong and play a part as a hub of the development of the East Coast sphere.

And five cities and counties of the East Coast account for 32 percent of Gyeongbuk’s total population and 31 percent of Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP). They are outfitted with industrial infrastructure such as energy and hi-tech. If and when an era of the East Coast is ushered in, Gyeongbuk will be resurrected and Korea will be entering the $50,000 territory in per capita national income.

It is significant now that a control tower in a new maritime era has been established. With the opening of the new provincial government building, the province is now poised to accelerate efforts to nurture new growth industries and energy industries by making the most of resources of the sea, six times as wide as the size of the province.

It will be a watershed moment in the establishment of a tourism belt, such as marine culture & leisure/sport, along the 537 km-long coastline, recreation/healing infrastructure, and cruise tourism.

It is meant for making preparations for inter-Korean cooperation and the advent of an era of the “Northern Economy.” If the Northern Economy scheme is implemented in earnest, Yeongil Bay Port will become a hub port, and the distribution industry will be enlivened with a focus on the East Coast railway line and East Coast Expressway. It is expected to offer new insight into the value of the East Coast and emerge as a new axis of both Gyeongsangbukdo and the nation.

Q: Will you speak about the future direction of your provincial government’s administration?

A: The provincial government received the top “SA” grade in a survey of plans to implement public pledges made by city mayors and governments of the 7th-term elected local autonomy, conducted by Korea Manifesto Center. It is evaluated to have made its public pledges well. What is more important is to put them into action.

Public pledges are promises I’ve made to provincial residents, and I bet that making good on promises is a public office holder’s responsibility and duty.

Concerning the direction of operation of the provincial government, we’ve established tasks and plans. The provincial government is attaching priority on yielding tangible outcomes.

I’ll do my best to get a SA grade in terms of implementing public pledges. I’ll devote myself to making Gyeongbuk a wonderful province in which more good jobs are created and kids are born and childbirth and raising can be made. I’ll do my best to restore Gyeongbuk’s prestige with a passion the way I will be remember as a remarked governor down the road.