Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City to Merge 22 Public Institutions in Jeonnam and Gwangju into 11

【Financial News Jeonnam-Gwangju=Reporter Hwang Tae-jong】The Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City (Gwangju Special City) will merge 22 public institutions with similar functions or names into 11. The institutions are among the 18 public institutions formerly under Gwangju Metropolitan City, the 21 under Jeonnam, and the two jointly operated institutions before the Gwangju-Jeonnam administrative integration. The goal is to launch them jointly on Jan. 1 next year.
 To this end, the Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City formed 11 sector-specific merger task forces to discuss the institutions' functions and organizational structures, merger methods, ordinances and bylaws, labor-management issues, and ways to maintain citizen services. Six sectors have completed consultations on key issues, reached agreement on merger methods, and entered the stage of publicly announcing the draft legislation.
 The six sectors for which merger methods have been finalized, along with the institutions involved, are △Gwangju Urban Corporation + Jeonnam Development Corporation → Jeonnam-Gwangju Development and Energy Corporation; △Gwangju Tourism Organization + Jeonnam Tourism Foundation → Jeonnam-Gwangju Tourism Organization; △Gwangju Research Institute + Jeonnam Research Institute → Jeonnam-Gwangju Research Institute; △Gwangju Information and Culture Industry Promotion Agency + Jeonnam Information and Culture Industry Promotion Agency → Jeonnam-Gwangju Information and Culture Industry Promotion Agency; △Gwangju Credit Guarantee Foundation + Jeonnam Credit Guarantee Foundation → Jeonnam-Gwangju Credit Guarantee Foundation; and △Gwangju Economic Promotion and Mutual Growth Jobs Foundation + Jeonnam Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, Jobs and Economy Promotion Agency → Jeonnam-Gwangju Economic Promotion Agency.
 Bae Mi-gyeong, spokesperson for the Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City, announced this during a briefing on the public institution merger at the Gwangju Government Complex on the 21st.
 At the briefing, Bae first explained, "The integration of public institutions in the Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City is a process of redesigning the public service system, which had been divided between Gwangju and Jeonnam, to fit a single special-city system and provide better public services to the 3.2 million residents of the special city."
 She added, "The process is being carried out under the principles of △integrating similar or overlapping functions, △ensuring the succession of employee employment, △preventing disadvantages in budgets and staffing levels, △pursuing rapid integration, and △allowing institutions to lead an autonomous and responsible integration."
 Bae also stated, "The draft integration ordinances for these six sectors will be submitted to the city council in October after a period of public notice. Once the ordinances are approved, we will proceed with the necessary steps to launch the integrated institutions, including preparing their articles of association and other regulations and appointing executives."
 She continued, "The five remaining sectors, involving 10 institutions whose merger methods have not yet been finalized, are also holding consultations through their respective task forces. We will announce additional merger plans as soon as the consultations are completed."
 Bae particularly emphasized, "Rather than merging into a single entity, the three institutions in the climate, environment and energy sectors, where specialization is needed, will maintain their independence while strengthening their respective functions." The Gwangju Climate and Energy Promotion Institute will focus on carbon-neutral policy research and civic action and education; the Jeonnam Environmental Industry Promotion Institute will concentrate on fostering environmental companies and conducting measurement and analysis; and the Green Energy Institute will focus on developing renewable energy technologies and supporting related industries and companies.
 Finally, Bae said, "The Integrated Special City is pursuing 'an integration that meets the deadline without problems emerging later,' while considering both speed and direction important," adding, "Our goal is to jointly launch 11 integrated institutions on Jan. 1 next year."

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