The city of Naju in Gwangju is actively promoting a citizen petition for the second phase of public institution relocation and has officially launched a task force to attract these institutions.
From September 11 to 12, Naju held a signature campaign at the Bitgaram Festival, which took place at Bitgaram Lake Park. The campaign aimed to gather support for the successful relocation of public institutions and the integrated headquarters of the five power companies.
This initiative follows the government's announcement on September 3 regarding the principles and direction for the second phase of public institution relocation, emphasizing the need for clustering public institutions in Bitgaram Innovation City and rallying community support for this effort.
The government outlined five key principles, including minimizing the retention of over 350 public institutions in the metropolitan area and promoting the clustering of institutions in existing innovation cities.
In collaboration with the Jeonnam Research Institute, Naju informed festival attendees about the strengths of Bitgaram Innovation City, which has become the largest innovation city in the country with 16 public institutions relocated as a result of cooperation between Jeonnam and Gwangju during the first phase of relocation.
Particularly, Naju highlighted that Bitgaram Innovation City is the only inter-regional joint innovation city in South Korea, showcasing its achievements in establishing a growth hub through the clustering of large public institutions, including Korea Electric Power Corporation.
As the administrative integration of Jeonnam and Gwangju forms a single metropolitan economic zone, Naju promoted the necessity of prioritizing the clustering of relevant institutions in Bitgaram Innovation City, considering the connectivity with existing functional groups and local industries.
Currently, Bitgaram Innovation City hosts 16 public institutions in energy, agriculture, information and communication, and culture, including Korea Electric Power Corporation and Korea Rural Community Corporation, and has developed an industrial ecosystem linked with companies, research institutions, and Korea Energy Engineering University (KENTECH).
Naju is also rallying citizen support for the integrated headquarters of the five power companies. The city plans to attract the headquarters to Bitgaram Innovation City, which is positioned as a core hub of South Korea's energy industry, maximizing synergy with existing energy public institutions.
If the integrated headquarters of the five power companies, including Korea Electric Power Corporation, the Korea Power Exchange, and KDN, are established in Naju, it is expected to strengthen the energy industry ecosystem that connects generation, transmission, trading, and research and development.
Alongside the citizen petition, Naju plans to accelerate its efforts through the already operational task force for attracting the second phase of public institutions.
The city aims to actively promote the competitive advantages of Bitgaram Innovation City, including its industrial infrastructure, connectivity among public institutions, universities, and research organizations, as well as living conditions such as transportation, education, healthcare, and culture, along with immediately available office spaces. Naju also plans to establish a cooperative system with local political circles and relevant organizations.
Meanwhile, Bitgaram Innovation City ranked first in the 'Innovation City Coexistence Index' evaluation released by the Innovation City Policy Research Institute last year, marking its second consecutive year in the top position among ten innovation cities nationwide.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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