Jeollanam-do Mobilizes All-out Efforts to Attract Public Institution Relocations Including NongHyup and Suhyup

June Seen as the Decisive Battleground
All Administrative Resources Mobilized

Jeollanam-do Province is making an all-out effort to attract key public institutions, such as the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation (NongHyup) and the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives (Suhyup), in preparation for the central government’s second phase of public institution relocations to the regions.

The provincial government anticipates that discussions about relocating public institutions will accelerate after the local elections. It has designated June as the critical “golden time” that will determine the success or failure of its efforts, and has decided to mobilize all administrative resources for this purpose.

On June 2, Jeollanam-do held the second working-level meeting of the Public Institution Attraction Promotion Team at the Seo Jae-pil Room of the provincial office, presided over by Vice Governor Hwang Giyeon. During the meeting, the team shared updates on its attraction efforts and reviewed the outcomes of the first phase of public institution relocations.

Jeollanam-do has set a strategic goal of attracting 40 institutions, including NongHyup, Suhyup, Korea District Heating Corporation, and Korea Environment Corporation. The strategy is based on the premise of administrative integration with Gwangju Metropolitan City and aims to establish advanced industries such as energy, agri-fisheries, artificial intelligence (AI), as well as culture and arts, and social services, as future growth engines.

Hwang Giyeon, Vice Governor of Jeollanam-do, is chairing the '2nd Working-Level Meeting of the 2nd Public Institution Attraction Promotion Team' on the 2nd at the Seo Jae-pil Room in the provincial government office.
[Photo by Jeonnam Province]

In particular, the Public Institution Attraction Promotion Team, which was launched in May, has designated the period through June as an intensive campaign phase. So far, the team has directly visited 22 institutions to explain Jeollanam-do’s industrial base, innovation city infrastructure, residential environment, and various incentives, thereby accelerating its efforts to attract these organizations.

During these promotional activities, some institutions, including NongHyup and Suhyup, reportedly expressed the view that amending relevant laws must precede any relocation of their headquarters.

In response, Jeollanam-do is working with the region’s political circles to push for legislative amendments, while also actively appealing to the Office for Government Policy Coordination and related ministries about the necessity of institutional reforms.

Indeed, Representative Moon Geumjoo introduced a bill to amend the Agricultural Cooperatives Act for NongHyup’s relocation in January last year, and Representative Seo Samseok has introduced a bill to amend the Fisheries Cooperatives Act for Suhyup’s relocation.

At the meeting, Jeollanam-do also released the results of its own assessment of the impact of the first phase of public institution relocations.

According to the evaluation, since the creation of the innovation city, the province has seen a 617.2 billion won increase in local tax revenue, 4,083 local talents recruited, and 1,171 businesses moving in, all of which have made significant contributions to revitalizing the local economy.

On the other hand, satisfaction with living infrastructure, such as education, healthcare, and transportation, was found to be relatively low. Therefore, improving residential conditions has been identified as a key task for attracting additional public institutions in the future.

Accordingly, Jeollanam-do plans to secure phased occupancy strategies, including the use of vacant buildings, undeveloped cluster sites, and expansion of the innovation city. The province also intends to cooperate with the provincial Office of Education to enhance educational infrastructure.

By the end of this month, Jeollanam-do will conduct additional promotional activities targeting the remaining 18 institutions. At the same time, it plans to actively communicate the necessity of public institution relocation to the new government’s transition committee and the president-elect’s team. In addition, the province will form the Pan-Provincial Citizens’ Attraction Committee to foster a supportive atmosphere among residents, and launch public relations and consensus-building initiatives targeting the central government.

Hwang Giyeon, Vice Governor of Jeollanam-do, stated, "Relocating public institutions is a core task that will determine the region’s future, based on the expanded economic sphere and administrative efficiency achieved through integration with Gwangju and Jeollanam-do. As the government’s timetable accelerates, we must focus all our resources on attraction efforts, with the determination that June is effectively our last chance for success."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.