"Second-Round Public Institutions to Naju"... 300 from Jeonnam and Gwangju Form Private-Sector Council

Pan-Citizens' Committee to Launch on October 30
Calls for Public Institutions to Be Clustered in Existing Innovation Cities
Statement to Be Delivered to Blue House, Government, and National Assembly

About 300 people from various sectors in Jeonnam and Gwangju will establish a private-sector council to attract public institutions in the second round of relocation to Naju Bitgaram Innovation City.

The Pan-Citizens' Committee for Attracting Public Institutions in the Second Round to Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City said on October 27 that it would hold an inauguration ceremony at 2 p.m. on October 30 at the Naju Bitgaram Complex Culture and Sports Center and begin its activities.

The committee will include figures from the energy, information and communications technology (ICT), semiconductor, agricultural and life sciences, arts and culture, and media sectors. Its co-chairs will be Park Gwangtae, former mayor of Gwangju; Kim Byeongwon, former chairman of the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation; Han Sangwon, chairman of the Gwangju Chamber of Commerce and Industry; and Cho Hwanik, former president of Korea Electric Power Corporation. Secretary-General Kim Seongui, chair of the Naju Association in Gwangju, will oversee its day-to-day work.

A view of Naju Bitgaram Innovation City, home to 16 public institutions, including Korea Electric Power Corporation. Provided by Naju City.

The advisory group will include current and former local lawmakers, as well as members of the Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City Council and Naju City Council. The committee will pool the expertise of these and around 300 other local figures to work toward attracting public institutions.

The core argument for attracting public institutions in this second round is the industrial foundation already established in Bitgaram Innovation City. The official name of Naju Bitgaram Innovation City is Jeonnam-Gwangju Joint Innovation City. It is currently home to 16 public institutions, with foundations in energy, agricultural and life sciences, information and communications, and arts and culture. The energy sector includes Korea Electric Power Corporation, Korea Power Exchange, KEPCO KPS, KEPCO KDN, and the Korea Institute of Energy Technology (KENTECH).

The committee argues that an ecosystem linking industry, academia, and research—bringing together public institutions, universities, and related industries—can be connected with institutions relocating in the second round. It says that placing additional public institutions in an existing innovation city would make greater use of the research, education, and industrial foundations already in place.

The committee's launch was organized in line with the "Basic Principles for the Second Round of Relocation to Local Areas" announced by the government on September 3. The aim is to call for public institutions to be concentrated in existing innovation cities, linking their relocation to stronger regional industrial competitiveness and balanced national development.

At the inauguration ceremony, the committee will report on its main activity plans and read a statement calling for public institutions to be relocated to Naju Bitgaram Innovation City in the second round. Attendees will also hold signs and chant slogans calling for the relocation. The statement adopted that day will be formally delivered to the Blue House, relevant government ministries, and the National Assembly.

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