"Seeking Solutions for People’s Livelihoods and Growth"—Heads of Chungcheongbuk-do Economic Institutions and Organizations Gather

[Financial News Cheongju=Reporter Kim Won-jun] The heads of economic institutions and organizations in Chungcheongbuk-do gathered to seek solutions for people’s livelihoods and the regional economy.
 Chungcheongbuk-do held the “First Strategic Meeting of Economic Institutions and Organizations Under the Ninth Popularly Elected Administration” on the 10th in the provincial government’s main conference room, with the heads of about 30 major economic institutions and organizations in attendance. The meeting was organized to share the administration’s future vision and build a close public-private cooperation network to revive domestic demand weakened ahead of the upcoming Chuseok holiday.
 The meeting brought together Shin Yong-han, governor of Chungcheongbuk-do, Lee Sang-sik, chair of the Chungcheongbuk-do Provincial Council, and heads of local financial institutions, public agencies, and economic organizations. Participants agreed that various economic indicators, including manufacturing output and exports, were showing signs of recovery, buoyed by a recent semiconductor upswing. At the same time, they focused on coordinating an institutional response to difficulties affecting people’s livelihoods, such as persistently high prices and a sluggish construction sector.
 Above all, Chungcheongbuk-do decided to focus its policy efforts on easing the funding shortage facing small and medium-sized enterprises and small business owners. It will urgently allocate 13 billion won in special management stabilization funds for local small and medium-sized enterprises facing increased demand for Chuseok holiday funds. In addition, the province will double its youth startup support fund from 1 billion won to 2 billion won and apply an ultra-low annual interest rate of 1.5%, substantially reducing young entrepreneurs’ financial burden. It also plans to actively identify companies that can use the National Growth Fund to encourage private investment in new industries.
 The participants also discussed measures to create “a virtuous cycle of local consumption” by directing the holiday spending boost to local small business owners and traditional markets. Economic institutions and public agencies in the province agreed to prioritize products made by small and medium-sized enterprises and women-owned businesses in Chungcheongbuk-do when purchasing holiday gifts and supplies. They also plan to generate a tangible boost to domestic demand by operating a “Traditional Market Shopping Day” and expanding the purchase and use of Onnuri Gift Certificates.
 Public-private cooperation to expand major social overhead capital infrastructure, a long-standing regional priority, is also gaining momentum. The meeting’s participants agreed to actively join a province-wide petition drive and rally public support for the swift implementation of key projects that will shape Chungcheongbuk-do’s future for the next century, including construction of a civilian-only runway at Cheongju International Airport and expansion of the Jungbu and Gyeongbu Expressways.
 Chungcheongbuk-do has laid the foundation for macroeconomic growth by successively attracting major national projects, including the creation of K-Bio Square and its designation as a specialized complex for the national high-tech strategic industry of secondary batteries. However, concerns have been raised that the benefits of these high-tech industries have not been adequately reaching small and medium-sized parts and equipment suppliers, neighborhood businesses, and the broader local economy. The newly established public-private cooperation framework is therefore expected to help create a mutually beneficial ecosystem between large high-tech companies and local small and medium-sized enterprises, while ensuring that the benefits of technological innovation reach communities and people’s livelihoods.
 Shin Yong-han, governor of Chungcheongbuk-do, said, "The first-ever era of a 10-trillion-won government budget provides a solid foundation for accelerating the great transformation of Chungcheongbuk-do’s economy. We will work closely with economic institutions and organizations to ensure that the funds secured lead to tangible changes in the growth of businesses in the province, job creation, and residents’ lives."
[email protected] Kim Won-jun Reporter