'Yongin Renaissance' Lee Sangil Visits Florence, Birthplace of the Renaissance: "Let's Establish Sister-City Ties and Promote Youth Exchanges"

Yongin Mayor Lee Sangil Makes Wide-Ranging Diplomatic Push in Italy and the Netherlands
Proposes Exchanges with Florence in Semiconductors, K-pop, Theater and Other Cultural Fields
In the Netherlands, Studies Zuidasdok Expressway Undergrounding Project as a Model

Lee Sangil, mayor of Yongin Special City in Gyeonggi Province, visited Florence, Italy, the birthplace of the European Renaissance, and proposed establishing a sister-city relationship and promoting exchanges among young people and university students. In the Netherlands, he toured the site of a major transportation infrastructure project linking an underground expressway with the railway network.

Mayor Lee Sangil and Deputy Mayor Paola Galgani exchange views on ways to promote cooperation at Florence City Hall on the 30th (local time). Provided by Yongin City.

On Oct. 30 (local time), Mayor Lee met with Deputy Mayor Paola Galgani and Tiziana Eraldi, who is in charge of international cooperation, at Florence City Hall. They discussed ways to promote exchanges and cooperation for about an hour.

Lee introduced Yongin’s municipal slogans, “Creating the Future Together, Yongin Renaissance” and “Yongin Renaissance 2.0.” “Our emphasis on the Renaissance means upgrading every field that affects residents’ lives through creative activities and bringing about more profound change,” he said.

“I am deeply moved to discuss exchanges and cooperation between our two cities at Florence City Hall, in the birthplace of the European Renaissance and a city where the Medici family was active,” he said. “I hope Yongin and Florence will establish a sister-city relationship and pursue exchanges, including among university students.”

Deputy Mayor Galgani expressed interest in exchanges among young people in advanced industries. “Florence is also very active in establishing sister-city relationships with outstanding cities abroad,” she said. “I hope young people in Florence who are interested in advanced technologies such as semiconductors will have opportunities to study at universities in Yongin.”

Mayor Lee Sang-il and Deputy Mayor Paola Galgani pose for a commemorative photo at Florence City Hall on the 30th (local time). Provided by Yongin City.

Mayor Lee explained plans for six Samsung Electronics semiconductor production facilities and four SK hynix production facilities to be built in Yongin. He also introduced the city’s support for local universities’ semiconductor talent development programs and plans to establish a semiconductor high school that will open next spring.

He also proposed exchanges in the cultural sector. “We will help young people in Florence who are interested in K-pop and Korean culture pursue their studies at universities in Yongin,” Lee said. He also explained that Yongin has held the Korea University Theater Festival every year since 2024, adding that the city would consider ways to provide support if university students from Florence wished to participate in next year’s event.

Deputy Mayor Galgani said, “Thank you for your active interest in exchanges and cooperation with Florence. Let’s continue communicating and talking to build a good relationship between our two cities.”

Earlier that morning, Mayor Lee and the Yongin City delegation visited the Zuidasdok Information Centre at the World Trade Center Amsterdam in the Netherlands. They heard about the project’s progress from Niels van den Brink, Zuidasdok’s program manager for transportation, and toured the site.

Zuidasdok is a project to put the A10 expressway underground in Amsterdam’s Zuidas district, in the south of the city, and connect the surface area with the railway network to transform Zuid Station into a multimodal transportation hub. Mayor Lee asked about how the project is being funded, how construction is affecting residents’ lives, and how residents view the project.

Mayor Lee Sang-il listens to a briefing on the project at the Jawidaseu-Jawidaseudok Information Center on the 30th (local time). Provided by Yongin City.

Yongin City is pursuing plans to build a multimodal transit facility near Guseong Station in connection with the Gyeongbu Expressway undergrounding project. The project involves building a four-lane underground expressway along a 26.1-kilometer stretch from Yongin’s Giheung Interchange to Seoul’s Yangjae Interchange. The visit was made to examine an overseas example of developing an underground expressway together with railway and transit facilities.

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