Editorial Gwangju Mayor Park Gwan-yeol's Claim of 'One-Sided Sacrifice by National Industrial Complex' Resonates
Gwangju Mayor Park Gwan-yeol of Gyeonggi Province recently held his first press conference at City Hall since taking office and announced the core values of his municipal administration. His policy direction is to prioritize 'communication, performance, and pragmatism' as the top agenda in order to change citizens' lives before the city's external appearance. Mayor Park stated, "Gwangju's population continues to grow, but the lives that citizens actually feel have not yet changed sufficiently," and pledged to implement administration that brings changes to citizens' lives. (Related article: News S, 21st, 'Gwangju Mayor Park Gwan-yeol's Core Values of Ninth-Term Municipal Administration: "Communication, Performance, and Pragmatism"')
The goals of Gwangju he announced are 'a city with direct connections that work immediately,' 'a Gwangju where parents raising children are relieved of childcare concerns and youth prepare for their futures,' 'a convergence city where urban AI technology and urban development advance together, where energy and industrial complexes are established simultaneously, and where people learn, research, and start businesses in Gwangju,' 'promotion of Gyeonggang Line commuter shuttle trains, introduction of Gwangju-style night owl buses, and phased expansion of railway and road networks,' and 'research and development functions and workforce development for semiconductors and AI.'
It remains to be seen in four years how much Mayor Park's promise to create 'a city with direct connections that work immediately' as its foundation—where 'citizens are happy,' 'growth through convergence,' 'traffic flows smoothly,' and 'work and life harmonize'—will be realized.
On this occasion, Mayor Park mentioned the region's most pressing issue: the water supply pipeline problem for the Yongin Semiconductor National Industrial Complex. Mayor Park pointed out, "Of the industrial water supply pipelines (totaling 46.9 km) to be supplied to the Yongin Semiconductor National Industrial Complex, 16.5 km—approximately one-third—runs through Gwangju's downtown area." He emphasized that large-scale government-level investment commensurate with Gwangju's sacrifice is necessary.
Reminding of the fact that Gwangju has sacrificed for over 50 years through overlapping regulations to preserve water quality at Paldang Lake, he clearly stated that the city cannot accept another unilateral sacrifice. After noting, "This does not mean we will refuse to cooperate for national industrial development," he firmly stressed that since coexistence begins with the region, legitimate demands must be reflected and concrete coexistence measures must be established.
In the Gwangju region, opposition has emerged regarding the government-led Yongin Advanced System Semiconductor Cooperation Complex Integrated Water Supply Project, with claims that the government is imposing one-sided sacrifice. In connection with this, Mayor Park conducted one-person placard protests in front of Samsung Digital City intersection in Suwon, where Samsung Electronics headquarters is located, from June 17 during his transition period, urging the government, Gyeonggi Province, and Samsung Electronics to establish coexistence measures.
The government compensation measures officially demanded by Mayor Park include △construction of an artificial intelligence (AI) smart city with 30,000 housing units △inducement of AI and semiconductor research and development (R&D) and talent cultivation institutions △smart water industry investment, and others. These are also the will of Gwangju citizens.
Mayor Park plans to continue consultations with relevant agencies to ensure Gwangju's position is reflected and to continue external activities urging coexistence measures. Mayor Park's claim that concrete coexistence measures must be established is by no means excessive.