Mayor Jihoon Cho of Jeonju: Focused on Fiscal Normalization and Establishing AI City Foundations

One-Month Press Conference:
"Delivering Tangible Change Through Four Core Strategies"

Jihoon Cho, Mayor of Jeonju in North Jeolla Province, marked one month since the launch of the 9th popularly elected municipal administration by identifying expanded communication with citizens, fiscal normalization, and fostering future industries as the core tasks for city governance. He vowed to achieve tangible results in these areas over the remainder of his term.

On the 30th, Jeonju Mayor George Hoon held a press conference at the city hall briefing room to mark 30 days since taking office. He announced the administrative achievements of the past month and future directions to realize the municipal government’s ninth-term policy direction, "Jeonju, a City Where We Become Special!" Photo by Jeonju City Hall

On July 30, Mayor Cho held a press conference in the city hall briefing room, presenting the administrative achievements of the past month and outlining future operational directions. He set forth "Jeonju, a City Where We Become Special" as the municipal vision, emphasizing that administrative efforts will focus on communication-based governance rooted in citizen sovereignty, fiscal recovery, and securing future growth engines.

Mayor Cho assessed that his main priority since inauguration has been bridging the gap between citizens and municipal administration.

He initiated his work not with a formal inauguration ceremony but with a policy briefing. He also unlocked the speed gates on the first floor of city hall and established a citizen communication space next to the mayor's office, allowing anyone to visit freely. Additionally, he conducted on-site inspections of disaster-prone areas such as the Jingideul Drainage Pump Station and Wolpyeong Disaster Risk Zone to assess prevention systems, and instructed public officials to respond immediately to citizen reports as part of a field-oriented administration.

Mayor Cho also cited fiscal normalization as the highest priority for the 9th term.

He put into full-scale operation the "Special Committee for Fiscal Innovation" as the first official business item following his inauguration, and plans to collaborate with the city council to devise measures to overcome the fiscal crisis.

Issuance of new local government bonds will be strictly limited, and the necessity and priority of investment projects will be reassessed to improve fiscal soundness. Currently, he is also meeting directly with all of the city's 93 departments to review key projects and current issues, working to enhance the efficiency of budget execution.

Mayor Cho is accelerating efforts to secure future growth engines. He visited AI and ICT companies to inspect industrial sites and signed a "Defense Industry Innovation Cluster for Jeonju, North Jeolla" business agreement with the Defense Acquisition Program Administration and North Jeolla’s Special Autonomous Province, working to establish a defense industry base in connection with Jeonju’s carbon industry.

This is seen as an extension of Jeonju's strategy to secure future sources of growth by linking its established carbon industry with emerging sectors such as AI and the defense industry.

Mayor Cho announced four key strategic goals for the 9th term: a city that respects its citizens, a special AI city, a city responsible for citizen care, and a top-5 cultural industry city in Asia.

Mayor Cho stated, "The past month has been a time to establish the foundation for reflecting the will of the citizens in city administration. My aim is to connect Jeonju with the 13 cities and counties of North Jeolla and transform it into a platform city serving the province’s five million people. I will ensure that the groundwork for change we have set so far leads to tangible results that citizens can truly experience."

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