Gangwon-do Gov. Kim Jin-tae, greeting the New Year, the Year of the Rabbit, said, “I wish for your happiness. And finally, we’re approaching the end of the long, dark tunnel of the COVID-19 pandemic.” “Regional festivals, which had been suspended and cancelled, have begun to be reopened,” Gov. Kim said.
He expressed the New Year’s hope days are coming closer when we enjoy freedom by taking off masks not only outdoors but also indoors.
But high inflation, high interest rates and strong foreign currencies, caused by the worsening of global economic conditions, have weighed down Korea’s economy, impacting low-income people, and the provincial government is doing its best to ease the difficulties they experience, but I worry that the economic outlook for the year 2023 is not bright.”
Gov. Kim said, “The 8th-term publicly-elected Gangwon-do provincial government, which was inaugurated last June, has been running constantly for the interests of provincial residents: we saw that 30 percent of debts, standing at 1 trillion won, have been repaid, and the central government’s subsidies amount to 9 trillion won.”
“The provincial government has done many things in a short period of time, such as the inauguration of a committee to support the special self-governing province, selecting the site of a new building for the provincial government and building a semiconductor cluster, but now is a starting point, and we’ll redouble efforts so that provincial people can sense changes,” he said.
“The New Year is the first year of inaugurating Gangwon-do Special Self-Governing Province, and even through Gangwon-do has changed its name to Gangwon-do Special Self-Governing Province for the first time in 628 years, we have to change all things, not just the name itself,” Kim said.
He promised to make the province a residents-oriented special self-governing area with the spirt of “jeguposhin,” a Chinese saying meaning eliminating outdated things and unfurling new ones.
Gov. Kim said the goal of the 8th-term publicly-elected Gangwon-do provincial government is to make Gangwon-do Special Self-Governing Province an international city of new economy in which companies and people move in by securing authorities to lift tedious regulations in military, agriculture, environment and forest sectors.
“Gangwon-do Special Self-Governing Province is decentralized, and it is asking the central government for a kneading bowl to make dough, not bread, and if a kneading bowl is given, we intend to make bread on our own by kneading buckwheat dough and traditional rice cake,” Gov. Kim said.
He asked for authorities to lift regulations, not raise their budgets.
Strong financing is a foundation of Gangwon-do self-government, and when strong financing is backed up, we may implement to our heart’s content what we want to do, and what we have to do, Gov. Kim said.
He stressed pursuing fiscal innovation without wavering, saying that 30 percent of debts were reduced last year, and an additional 10 percent will be reduced this year.
Gov. Kim said his provincial government will spare no investments in future growth engine industries, such as semiconductors, e-Mobility, hydrogen and bio health.
Gangwon-do has already secured 20 billion won in the central government’s budget for the establishment of a semiconductor education center, and it would accelerate efforts to attract future strategy industries, such as the construction of a chip cluster.
Gov. Kim, repeating what he said in his speech during his inauguration, said he would make good on making Gangwon-do a “free land” in which companies move in, uprooting all corruption, such as defeatism and closed-door administration, and a pledge to realize a dream of “Gangwon Era” with a population of 2 million, 100 trillion won in gross regional domestic product and radiating to the Seoul Metropolitan area.
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