During a visit to Europe, Yongin Mayor Lee Sang-il met with Deputy Mayor Paola Galgani at the Florence City Hall on October 30 (local time) to discuss establishing a sister city relationship and student exchange programs.
Also present was Tiziana Eraldi, the international cooperation officer. Mayor Lee expressed his hope that "Yongin and Florence can establish a sister city relationship and promote student exchanges," adding, "It is a great honor to discuss cooperation in Florence, the birthplace of the Renaissance." He noted that when he took office four years ago, he adopted the slogan "Creating the Future Together, Yongin Renaissance," and after being re-elected in June, he introduced "Yongin Renaissance 2.0."
Deputy Mayor Galgani stated, "Florence is also proactive in establishing sister city relationships with overseas cities," and expressed hope that young people from Florence interested in advanced technologies like semiconductors would have the opportunity to study at universities in Yongin.
Mayor Lee explained that Yongin plans to host six semiconductor fabs from Samsung Electronics and four from SK Hynix. He mentioned that the city is supporting local universities in training semiconductor talent and that a high school specializing in semiconductors is set to open next spring. In the cultural sector, he stated that they would assist Florence students interested in K-pop and Korean culture to study at universities in Yongin.
On the same day, Mayor Lee visited the Zuidas Information Center at the World Trade Center in Amsterdam. The Zuidas project aims to transform the southern Zuidas area of Amsterdam into a mixed-use economic, commercial, and residential district by burying the A10 highway and creating a multi-modal transportation hub around the Zuid station.
During his visit, Mayor Lee listened to updates on the project from Niels van den Brink, the program's chief transportation manager, and asked questions about funding methods, the impact of project progress on citizens' lives, and public evaluations.
Yongin City is pursuing plans to create a transportation hub around the Guseong Station by constructing a multi-modal transfer facility in conjunction with the undergrounding of the Gyeongbu Expressway. The undergrounding project involves building a four-lane underground highway over a 26.1-kilometer stretch from the Yongin Giheung Interchange to the Seoul Yangjae Interchange.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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