Chairman Hyungseok Lim Urges Public Acquisition of Gwangyang Health University Site

"Specialized Glocal University Campus Must Be Attracted"
The Most Effective Way to Retain Young People Is to Have a University in the Region

Hyungseok Lim, Chair of the Planning and Finance Committee (Gwangyang 1) at the Jeonnam Gwangju Unified Special City Council, issued a statement regarding the closure of Gwangyang Health University scheduled for August 31. He strongly urged local governments to proactively purchase the university site for public use and to attract specialized campuses of glocal universities within the region.

Gwangyang Health University is scheduled to close on August 31, following the bankruptcy declaration by the Gwangju Bankruptcy Court on June 19. Special transfer admission procedures are currently underway for the 121 enrolled students to neighboring universities. As a result, Gwangyang City is facing a serious crisis marked by the disappearance of its only higher education institution, the outflow of the youth population, and an economic slowdown in the region.

Im Hyungseok, Chairman of the Planning and Finance Committee (Gwangyang 1), issued a statement regarding the situation of Gwangyang Health University, which is scheduled to close on August 31. He urged local governments to proactively purchase the site for public use and to attract specialized campuses of glocal universities within the district. Provided by the Jeonnam Gwangju Integrated Special City Council

In his statement, Chairman Hyungseok Lim said, "Among the many policies to ensure young people remain in the region, the most certain and effective measure is to have a university within the local area." He called for proactive administrative and political decisions to ensure the next 100 years of Gwangyang's future, moving beyond the blame game over past issues. To this end, he proposed a three-step policy alternative to overcome the regional crisis.

First, the proactive public purchase of the Gwangyang Health University site, led by the integrated special city and Gwangyang City.

He called for an all-out response to prevent the large mountainside site from being neglected and turning into a crime-prone area or being sold off to speculative private capital. He urged authorities to secure priority purchase rights through negotiations with the bankruptcy trustee and at court auctions. He also proposed that the "Gwangyang Health University Closure Response Task Force" should be immediately activated to establish funding strategies, including the use of special grants, the Local Extinction Response Fund, and the Regional Balanced Development Special Accounts for site acquisition.

Second, attracting a "glocal university specialized campus" within the region, based on the publicly acquired site.

He stressed that local governments should provide sites secured within the special city to the five designated glocal universities and guarantee aggressive R&D budget support and industry-academia cooperation projects at the local government level. He explained that the successful establishment of "specialized campuses" in advanced industries can only be achieved if such site availability and substantial administrative and financial incentives are provided.

Third, completing the recruited campus as a "special city-type advanced industry talent training and youth integrated platform."

Based on the adoption of an "administrative fast-track" for easing current urban planning regulations tied to school land use, he proposed renovating the site into a technical talent training center and youth startup incubator, linked to Gwangyang's core strategic industries such as secondary batteries, hydrogen, new materials, and smart ports. He also suggested organically combining youth-oriented residential, cultural, and welfare spaces with these facilities.

Chairman Hyungseok Lim stated, "The closure of the university is a painful event for the region, but depending on the response of local governments and political circles, it could become a great turning point for transforming Gwangyang's urban space and youth policies for the next 100 years." He added, "To spur decisive actions by the integrated special city and Gwangyang City, the council will spare no legislative and policy support at the parliamentary level."

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