[Interview with Changwon Mayor Kang Kiyoon] "Jobs Are Welfare... Preparing for the Next 50 Years of a Manufacturing City"

Advancing industries with AI, aircraft engines, and SMRs
Targeting 100,000 quality jobs

100 days in office... From "judge-like administration"
to "problem-solving administration"

"I believe jobs are the key to revitalizing Changwon's economy and the greatest form of welfare for its citizens."

Kang Ki-yoon, mayor of Changwon Special City, marks his 100th day in office on October 9. At the heart of his city administration are citizens' daily lives and jobs. He plans to pursue administrative reforms to ease everyday inconveniences while also transforming industry to prepare for the future of the manufacturing city. Having adopted "Citizens First, a Happy Changwon" as his vision for city administration, he reflected on his first 100 days as "a time when I felt the weight of the responsibility to make a real difference in citizens' lives."

Changwon Special City Mayor Kang Giyoon explains the city administration's “Citizens First, Happy Changwon” policy. [Photo provided by Changwon Special City]

Soon after taking office, Mayor Kang formed task forces to address key issues and began reviewing long-stalled projects. While tackling issues of great interest to citizens—including labor-management tensions over city bus services, the NC Dinos' home city, and plans for the zipline at Jinhae Marine Park—he also reviewed customary budget spending and administrative procedures. In industry, he identified artificial intelligence (AI), clean energy, aircraft engines, and small modular reactors (SMRs) as the next engines of growth.

◆ Bringing AI into manufacturing... Target of 100,000 quality jobs

Mayor Kang's top priority is creating 100,000 quality jobs. His strategy is to strengthen the competitiveness of existing manufacturing industries and expand the employment base by growing clean energy, manufacturing, and logistics. His plan is to combine business attraction and facility investment with talent development so that industrial growth leads to local jobs.

"Changwon is a leading industrial city that has driven South Korea's manufacturing sector for 50 years. Building on this strength, our industrial policy is to boost competitiveness by transforming manufacturing operations with AI and expand into future growth industries."

AI is central to the transformation of manufacturing. The city will establish a shared 5G private network at the Changwon National Industrial Complex for joint use by companies, and build a Manufacturing AX Industry-Academia Innovation Park in the Masan Free Trade Zone and Bongam Industrial Complex. The initiative will support the intelligent transformation of manufacturing processes by enabling companies, universities, and research institutions to jointly use equipment and demonstration facilities.

The Smart Green AX Demonstration Industrial Complex project, which will run through 2028, has a budget of KRW 22.2 billion. The city plans to establish three advanced factories with Doosan Enerbility, Hyundai Wia, Samhyun, and others, and extend AI-based autonomous manufacturing models to machinery and defense manufacturing sites. The goal is to raise productivity and competitiveness across the region's manufacturing sector, beyond the adoption of technology by individual companies.

The defense industry is expanding beyond land-based weapons into maritime and aerospace sectors. Mayor Kang identified the designation of the Changwon National Industrial Complex as a specialized advanced aircraft engine complex as a new opportunity. The city will draw on its local industrial base, including Hanwha Aerospace, its partner companies, and the Korea Institute of Materials Science, to support the localization of key materials and components and the development of indigenous engines.

The city plans to pursue 36 initiatives worth KRW 773.1 billion with Gyeongsangnam-do through 2036. It has set targets for the aircraft engine industry of KRW 6 trillion in revenue, KRW 3 trillion in exports, and more than 8,000 new jobs by 2035. Given the need for long-term investment, it is important to turn research and development results into contracts and jobs for local companies.

In the nuclear power industry, the city will use its manufacturing base for large-scale nuclear power plants to support entry into the SMR market. It will link the Comprehensive Nuclear Industry Support Center with the SMR Robotics Manufacturing Support Center and the Manufacturing Components Testing and Inspection Support Center to assist with everything from technology development to testing, inspection, and commercialization. Mayor Kang said the city would establish a support system to help local companies join the global SMR supply chain.

◆ Expanding the industrial and employment base through clean energy and Jinhae New Port

Clean energy is another pillar of the city's industrial policy. Having secured KRW 20 billion in national funding, the city plans to install solar power facilities with a capacity of at least 12.3 MW and an integrated energy management system in the Masan Free Trade Zone and Bongam Industrial Complex by 2029. It is also pursuing a "solar income" model that would reduce companies' energy costs and return power generation revenue to companies and workers.

Mayor Kang said, "We will work to attract related companies and develop skilled professionals, building a structure in which energy directly leads to industry and jobs." The aim is to expand solar power at industrial complexes, public facilities, and unused sites while also developing the industrial base for installation, operation, and maintenance.

Jinhae New Port is central to the city's logistics plans. To prepare for the era of Arctic shipping routes, the city plans to develop the area behind the new port as a multi-purpose hub integrating logistics, manufacturing, research and development, and residential functions. It is working on plans to divide the roles of the Namyang, Seongnae, and Wonpo districts and create a structure in which port cargo volumes generate added value and jobs in industries based in the surrounding area.

◆ Reviewing budget practices and streamlining administrative procedures

The city is also changing the way its administration works to support industrial transformation and improvements in citizens' daily lives. Mayor Kang said, "I focused on moving away from an approach that acts like a judge, using regulations to decide whether something can or cannot be done, and toward problem-solving administration that looks for solutions from the citizens' perspective."

The system for addressing key issues has also changed. The Strategic Coordination Office is reviewing disagreements between departments, overlapping investments, and inefficient budget spending, while coordinating links between projects and the order in which they are carried out. The aim is to resolve issues from the perspective of the city as a whole, rather than leaving each department to make its own decisions.

Fiscal management also needs to change if the city is to expand welfare and everyday support. In September, the city identified 68 initiatives at a meeting to review customary and unnecessary projects. It will combine its previously separate lifelong learning science festival and book festival, and focus on maintaining trees already planted through a tree-planting program that has met its target, rather than on new planting. The city estimates that it will save about KRW 4.8 billion in next year's main budget and KRW 51.1 billion cumulatively.

The city will also change how it manages savings from contract bids, with the budget department reclaiming and centrally managing the difference between the budgeted amount and the winning bid. Rather than leaving the remaining funds for individual departments to spend, the city will reallocate them to urgent projects for citizens. Mayor Kang said, "We will reinvest the funds we have brought together in projects that citizens need."

Work is also underway to streamline administrative procedures. For reconstruction and redevelopment projects, the city is pursuing integrated reviews that combine assessments in areas such as architecture, landscape, and traffic. The city expects that once the system is fully implemented, it could shorten review periods by six months to as much as a year compared with the current process. The actual time saved will need to be confirmed through the review process for each project.

◆ Focusing on bus service stability and easing the burden of transportation costs

The starting point for everyday administration was the places where daily life unfolds, rather than grand development projects. The city reviewed parking enforcement practices and road construction during rush hour, as well as grass cutting and pest control during heat waves and road repairs. It also sought to take citizens' circumstances into greater account during enforcement and penalty procedures. The city says its fundamental approach is to turn inconveniences identified on the ground into real changes in administration.

City bus services are one issue putting this approach to the test. According to the city, Changwon has seen three strikes and one work-to-rule action over the past six years. Since taking office, Mayor Kang has put a standing communication system in place. Labor and management have agreed to a wage standard based on the rate of civil servant pay increases over the next two years, and on August 19 they issued a joint declaration pledging to avoid labor disputes.

Building on this, the city is pursuing "Semi-Public Bus System 2.0." Its plan is to convert some low-revenue routes to community buses and demand-responsive transport (DRT), and increase revenue by expanding advertising, among other measures, to reduce the annual fiscal burden by about KRW 10 billion. The challenge is to improve fiscal efficiency while maintaining citizens' right to mobility and service levels.

Transportation costs are another issue of interest to citizens. Two prominent pledges are to make tolls on the Machang Bridge free and provide free city bus rides for students. Mayor Kang explained, "Both pledges are intended to ease citizens' worries about transportation costs and make getting around more convenient."

The plan to make the Machang Bridge toll-free is being considered as a way to ease the toll burden while diverting traffic away from the city center and onto outer roads. The city has formed a consultative body with Gyeongsangnam-do to discuss expanding the province's role in funding and ways to share the costs. Full toll-free access will require coordination among the relevant agencies and securing funding.

The city plans to introduce free city bus rides for elementary school students in early January 2027. Mayor Kang explained that the supporting ordinance is in place and that existing children's transit cards can be used. The city plans to reduce costs for middle and high school students by having them participate in the K-Pass youth fare refund program, scheduled to launch next year, before expanding free rides to them once fiscal conditions and discussions with relevant agencies allow.

◆ Resolving long-standing issues... Turning them into results citizens can see

The issue of the NC Dinos' home city has also reached a turning point. On August 20, the team withdrew its review of a possible relocation and decided to continue operating in Changwon. The city is discussing follow-up measures with the team, including improving the spectator experience and access to the stadium. The aim is to go beyond the agreement itself and ensure that citizens and fans visiting the ballpark can feel the difference.

Disused facilities are being given new functions. The zipline at Jinhae Marine Park will be transformed, using its existing tower, into a multi-purpose marine tourism facility featuring an extreme slide, an observatory, and activity spaces. The total project cost is KRW 7 billion, and the city aims to open the facility in 2028. It plans to connect the facility with nearby tourism projects and develop it into a destination where visitors can stay and enjoy themselves, rather than simply stop by briefly.

The city is not rushing to reach a conclusion on every issue. It is considering alternatives to make better use of the Culture Complex Town, while first moving ahead with improvements to the Phase 1 signal system and facilities for the S-BRT. The city plans to decide whether to proceed with Phase 2 based on operational conditions and citizens' opinions. Mayor Kang said, "I will keep citizens informed about progress and see through the follow-up measures for decisions that have been made."

The changes put forward during Mayor Kang's first 100 days range from small improvements in daily life to long-term projects that will transform the city's industrial structure. The key now is to set out the funding and schedules for each project in detail and turn them into results citizens can see. The target of 100,000 jobs will likewise be judged not only by the number of jobs, but also by their longevity, wages, and working conditions.

Mayor Kang looked to citizens' daily lives to define the path ahead.

"Going forward, I will focus on ensuring that the changes we have set in motion become part of citizens' everyday lives. I will also uphold to the end the principle that citizens must always be at the heart of city administration."

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