CHANGWON — About 700 people, including South Gyeongsang Province officials, lawmakers from both the ruling and opposition parties, business leaders and residents, rallied in front of the National Assembly on the 1st to press the government and parliament for a second round of public agency relocations, the siting of a merged headquarters for state-run power generators and the retention of the Naval Academy in Jinhae.
Attending the province-wide rally on the consolidation and relocation of public agencies were Governor Park Wan-su; Chung Jom-sig, floor leader of the People Power Party; Park Sang-woong, head of the party's South Gyeongsang chapter; People Power Party lawmakers Park Dae-chul and Kang Min-kuk; and Democratic Party lawmaker Heo Sung-moo, along with provincial council members, the South Gyeongsang Employers' Federation, mayors and county chiefs, local resident representatives and the association of provincial natives living in the Seoul area.
On the second round of relocations, Park said: "As the government itself has stated, the second round of public agency relocations should send agencies tied to a region's industries to that region. South Gyeongsang is a hub of manufacturing and industrial technology, so agencies related to industrial technology should move here, along with agencies that can link up with those already housed in the innovation city from the first round." He added, "South Gyeongsang must never be left out of public agency relocation."
On the merged headquarters for state power generators, he said: "Of the five power generation companies, two are in the Chungcheong region and three are in the Busan-Ulsan-South Gyeongsang area, so it is reasonable for the merged headquarters to come to the Yeongnam region. South Gyeongsang can make use of the existing Korea South-East Power building, which would also keep relocation costs to a minimum, so the merged headquarters must come here."
Park made clear his opposition to discussions on consolidating the Naval Academy. "Jinhae is the historical heart of the Republic of Korea Navy and home to a naturally endowed naval base that carries on the spirit of Admiral Yi Sun-sin," he said. "We cannot accept moving elsewhere the Naval Academy, which trains the Navy's ganseong — the core talent that defends the nation."
He continued: "We endured it when the Army College and the Naval Operations Command left. If the one remaining institution, the Naval Academy, is taken away as well, the citizens of Jinhae and the residents of South Gyeongsang cannot accept it. The government must withdraw the consolidation discussions, and the Naval Academy must remain in Jinhae."
The province has been campaigning with a list of 40 target agencies, including five core institutions — the Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology (KIAT), the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), the Korea Environment Corporation, the Industrial Bank of Korea and the Korea Racing Authority — with the aim of upgrading regionally specialized industries and creating synergy with agencies relocated in the first round.
At the rally, Oh Se-beom and Kim Jun-eon, representing university students in the province, read an appeal on the consolidation and relocation of public institutions. "Having studied and grown up in South Gyeongsang, we will keep pursuing our dreams here and compete as core talent that lifts the nation's growth," they said, calling for a second round of relocations linked to the region's strategic industries.
They added, "A sustainable future for the Republic of Korea begins only when young people can settle and take on challenges with confidence in the place where they were born and raised." After the appeal, participants held a picket performance and chanted slogans.
The province earlier issued joint statements on the relocation and consolidation of public agencies with People Power Party lawmakers from the region on Sept. 14 and with Democratic Party lawmakers from the region on Sept. 30.
South Gyeongsang Province said it will respond to the second round of public agency relocations, the bid to bring the merged headquarters of state power generators to the province and the retention of the Naval Academy in Jinhae through its public agency attraction committee.
