Park Wansu's Second Term Gets Underway ... Balanced Growth in Industry and Livelihoods to Drive South Gyeongsang's Great Leap Forward

"I believe the people of South Gyeongsang Province entrusted me with the provincial administration once again because they want us to continue the policies we have pursued and turn the province's transformation and progress into even more tangible achievements."

Park Wansu, the first governor of South Gyeongsang Province to complete a full term, will lead the provincial government for a second consecutive term, following his eighth popularly elected term.

South Gyeongsang Province Governor Park Wansu outlines the goals and operating direction for his ninth popularly elected term, following the achievements of his eighth term. [Photo provided by South Gyeongsang Province]

When he first took office, Park began his eighth term with a commitment to focus on economic recovery and stronger welfare and to build a "working provincial government." During that term, the province ended its period under an acting governor and brought about change step by step.

The province broke numerous records: ▲ranked fourth nationwide in economic growth ▲recorded a trade surplus for 44 consecutive months ▲achieved its highest-ever employment rate ▲recorded its lowest-ever unemployment rate ▲ranked first outside the capital region in both gross regional domestic product (GRDP) and total population ▲ranked first nationwide in the joint government evaluation ▲ranked first in perceived social security ▲and maintained a top-tier integrity rating.

South Gyeongsang Province brought about wide-ranging changes, including securing the Korea Aerospace Administration, introducing a provincial pension for residents, setting up an emergency medical situation room, securing the most Glocal University designations, and integrating Changwon National University with provincial colleges. These efforts made the province a model for other local governments to follow and put long-delayed priority projects back on track.

"These achievements would not have been possible without the united efforts of the 3.3 million residents of South Gyeongsang Province. We will not rest on what we have accomplished. Listening to people on the ground, we will responsibly deliver on each commitment we have made to residents."

Having taken the helm of the "South Gyeongsang ship" for a second consecutive term, Governor Park expressed his ambition to make "a great leap forward for South Gyeongsang, together with its residents" a reality during his ninth term.

"An important goal for the ninth-term provincial government is to achieve both industrial growth and stability in people's livelihoods, and ensure that the results improve residents' quality of life."

On October 8, marking 100 days since the start of his ninth term, Governor Park said that from the outset of the new term, he had focused on developing and implementing initiatives that would bring tangible changes to people's daily lives, including upgrading core industries with advanced technology, building a community-centered welfare system, and expanding regional transportation networks.

"The important thing now is to ensure that the policies we have planned work properly on the ground and lead to tangible results," he said, laying out his blueprint for running the provincial government.

South Gyeongsang Province Governor Park Wansu (center left) visits Taerim Industry, a leading physical AI smart manufacturing company in Seongsan-gu, Changwon, to inspect its AI-powered manufacturing innovation site. [Photo courtesy of Gyeongsangnam-do]

During its ninth term, South Gyeongsang Province will incorporate advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) into its core industries and use them as a new foundation for growth to reach greater heights.

The key is to build on the province's strong manufacturing base and technological expertise, developed over 50 years as a center of South Korean manufacturing in shipbuilding, defense, nuclear power, and machinery. By adding physical AI technologies, the province aims to transition to autonomous manufacturing, foster future growth industries such as small modular reactors (SMRs) and aerospace, and establish a solid foundation for new growth engines. It plans to build infrastructure for testing autonomous manufacturing, centered on the Changwon National Industrial Complex, and spread autonomous manufacturing technologies across its core industries, using AI to analyze and optimize production processes.

The province is also accelerating efforts to develop future growth industries. Drawing on its nuclear power manufacturing capabilities, it will seek designation of the "Gyeongsangnam-do SMR Special Zone" and develop it into a global SMR production hub. It will also build an aerospace belt along the southern coast, linking Sacheon, Jinju, and Changwon. The province aims to increase domestic production of products such as satellites and advanced aircraft engines and establish a full-cycle aerospace industry ecosystem in South Gyeongsang.

Welfare policy will shift dramatically from "welfare that residents must seek out and apply for themselves" to "welfare in which the administration reaches out first and provides support." The province will make its welfare delivery system more comprehensive so that no one misses out on assistance simply because they do not know about available programs, and will expand the direct awarding of major welfare benefits and applications made on residents' behalf.

The province will identify welfare blind spots proactively and address unmet needs through mandatory visits to high-risk groups and an AI-based integrated welfare platform. It will also broaden the reach of benefits by introducing a welfare points program for people in their 40s and 50s, who have been relatively underserved by welfare support, and providing assistance to young family caregivers.

The province is committed to completing a "Gyeongsangnam-do-style welfare system" that ensures residents receive all the services they need at each stage of life, from support during pregnancy and childbirth to job creation for older adults.

Participants at the investment agreement signing ceremony to realize a major leap forward for South Gyeongsang Province hold up the agreement. [Photo provided by South Gyeongsang Province]

The province will make it easier and more convenient for domestic and international companies to invest in South Gyeongsang. Governor Park said, "It is important to support companies so that their investment plans lead to actual construction and business operations, rather than remaining just plans."

Through the Gyeongsangnam-do Advanced Industries Promotion Task Force, the province will provide one-stop support throughout the investment process. It will proactively address the difficulties companies face, from securing infrastructure such as industrial sites, electricity, and industrial water to navigating complex permits and improving regulations.

The province has also proposed designating the first "Mega Special Zone" to raise the industrial competitiveness of the southeastern region. If designated, the zone will support corporate investment through regulatory exemptions and tax benefits. The province also plans to link an investment fund worth KRW 1 trillion with startup hubs in different regions, helping anchor companies' investments spread to partner small and medium-sized enterprises and creating an investment ecosystem in which companies and local communities can grow together.

All parts of the province will be connected within "30 minutes to an hour." The initiatives underpinning this goal include the Bujeon-Masan double-track railway, set to partially open in 2027; additional KTX services on the Gyeongjeon Line; the Gyeongnam Pass, introduced to reduce transportation costs; and the passage of preliminary feasibility studies for nine national road and local highway projects worth around KRW 1.5 trillion. Building on these efforts to shorten travel times, make rail travel more convenient, and encourage public transportation use, completion of the main road network of "four east-west corridors and five north-south corridors" will make travel easier for residents, strengthen connections between regions, and enable people to travel quickly between major hubs from anywhere in the province.

The province will also continue its efforts to enact the Special Act on the Development of the Southern Coast and the Special Act on the Construction of an Aerospace Complex City. It sees the two laws not merely as local issues, but as important national strategies to boost both South Gyeongsang's future growth and South Korea's competitiveness.

The southern coast has great potential, with its ria coastline, beautiful islands, history, and culture, as well as clusters of strategic industries such as tourism, shipbuilding, and aerospace. However, development is constrained by overlapping regulations, including those for conservation forests, national parks, restricted development zones, fisheries resource protection zones, agricultural promotion zones, natural environment conservation areas, restricted areas for the installation of emission facilities, water source protection zones, and forest protection zones. The regulated areas cover a total of 3,782.87 square kilometers, exceeding the province's administrative area of 3,333.06 square kilometers.

"The southern coast has an exceptionally beautiful natural environment and abundant tourism resources, but development and investment have been restricted by various regulations. We need to enact a special act and reasonably reform excessive land-use restrictions so that the southern coast can become a world-class marine leisure and tourism belt."

"Western South Gyeongsang, where the Korea Aerospace Administration is located, must also become a global aerospace complex city, equipped with industry-academia-research collaboration and the conditions needed for people to settle there, so that it can grow into the center of South Korea's aerospace industry."

By attracting the Korea Aerospace Administration to Sacheon, South Gyeongsang has laid the foundation to become a key hub for South Korea's aerospace industry. However, the province is struggling with inadequate living conditions and difficulties attracting highly skilled talent.

To address these challenges, the province believes it must establish a "self-sufficient complex city ecosystem" that brings together around the Korea Aerospace Administration the skilled workers, related companies, research institutions, and universities essential to the aerospace industry. It sees enactment of the Special Act on the Construction of an Aerospace Complex City as the key to achieving this.

The province expects that an aerospace complex city bringing together industry, research, education, housing, and culture will become the center of an aerospace industry ecosystem on a par with Houston in the United States or Toulouse in France.

The province expects jobs to increase as tourism along the southern coast and the aerospace industry in Sacheon develop. It anticipates that South Gyeongsang will attract a large number of talented people and companies as jobs grow not only through the convergence of tourism and aerospace-related work with the manufacturing, shipbuilding, defense, and nuclear power industries that underpin the province, but also through new industries such as artificial intelligence.

The 2026 Youth Day ceremony is being held in the main conference room of the Gyeongnam Provincial Government. [Photo provided by Gyeongnam Province]

The province is also focusing on making South Gyeongsang a place "where young people want to stay." Governor Park outlined his youth policies, saying, "The key is to create a virtuous cycle in which industry and academia work as one to educate, hire, and help young people settle here, so they do not leave the region."

South Gyeongsang Province is laying the groundwork for young people to study and find jobs locally, including expanding industry-academia collaboration to small and medium-sized companies as well as mid-sized companies, building on the RISE program and Glocal Universities. The province is pursuing the introduction of a youth pension to help young people build assets and is strengthening rent assistance. It will support not only education and employment, but also the conditions needed to settle in the region, including housing.

"Ultimately, what matters is creating an environment where young people can learn, work, and plan their futures locally, rather than leaving South Gyeongsang for education or jobs. We will steadily build the foundations for young people to settle here by linking education, jobs, housing, and asset building."

Gyeongsangnam-do Governor Park Wan-soo explains the goals and direction of his administration for the ninth elected term. [Photo courtesy of Gyeongsangnam-do]

Governor Park's dream, and the dream of the South Gyeongsang provincial government in its ninth term, is to make the province a place "where young people stay to find jobs and pursue their dreams, companies come to invest, and the administration reaches out first to residents in need and provides support."

The province aims to create quality jobs through the AI-driven transformation of core manufacturing industries and the development of new growth industries, while ensuring that all residents feel change in their daily lives through comprehensive transportation networks and proactive welfare that reaches out first. Above all, the provincial slogan, "A Great Leap Forward for South Gyeongsang, Together with Its Residents," must lead to tangible results that people experience in their everyday lives, rather than remain just a slogan.

"I hope that all public officials in South Gyeongsang will work together to pursue proactive administration and innovation, identifying and solving problems from the perspective of residents rather than simply following convention and precedent. Let us do our best in our respective roles, with a sense of responsibility that our decisions and actions as public officials can change people's lives."

"The achievements of the ninth term cannot be accomplished by the governor alone. They are possible when residents and public officials join forces. Listening to residents, I will work with public officials to steadily build a new era of progress for South Gyeongsang."

Although only 100 days have passed since the term began, Governor Park hopes that residents' lives will have changed substantially by the end of the ninth term. He has also reaffirmed his determination to complete a second full term as governor.

"When the ninth term ends, I hope South Gyeongsang will be recognized as a dynamic hub of advanced industries and a warm community where fewer people are left in the shadows of the welfare system. I will fulfill my responsibilities to the very end of my term so that residents can directly experience the province's progress."

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