“Designing a New Yeosu for the Next 100 Years” ... Yeosu Mayor Seo Young-hak Announces 93 Pledges in Five Key Areas

【Financial News | Yeosu: Reporter Hwang Tae-jong】Yeosu Mayor Seo Young-hak said on the 5th, “I will carry out 93 individual tasks across five key areas to transform citizens’ lives without a hitch and deliver changes and innovation that citizens can truly feel.”
 Mayor Seo Young-hak made the remarks at a meeting with journalists that day in the Yi Sun-sin Hall at City Hall. “Pledges are important promises to citizens, so it is important to review every task without exception and ensure that they lead to tangible results,” he said.
 According to Yeosu City, the 93 pledges across five key areas announced by Mayor Seo that day are central to the city’s ninth popularly elected administration. They are practical tasks aimed at realizing the city’s vision for the future: “Yeosu on the Move Again, Closer to Its Citizens and the World.”
 The five areas are: a citizen-sovereignty city where citizens are the owners (15 projects); a happy city with strong foundations (22 projects); an economic city leading the way into the future (19 projects); an attractive city that draws visitors from around the world (14 projects); and a future city where everyone can live well (23 projects). The related budget totals 6.2413 trillion won, comprising 5.7507 trillion won in national funds, 63.2 billion won in special municipal funds, 337 billion won in city funds and 90.4 billion won in private investment. The funds are to be allocated over the years.
 The 15 key projects include operating a Citizens’ Sovereignty Committee to realize a citizen-sovereignty city; running a citizen communications phone and responding on site within 48 hours; making Yeosu a clean city trusted by its citizens; strengthening the basic rights to healthcare and transportation in island areas; laying the groundwork for a Yeosu-style basic society; bringing a Yeosu-Suncheon Incident Peace Foundation and park to the city; establishing the Yeosu Future Fund; creating a new industrial cluster linked to chemical materials at the Yeosu National Industrial Complex; developing a Blue Food Tech smart complex; creating a “3 Nights, 6 Colors” stay-tourism city; promoting a Yeosu-style Yi Sun-sin historical route; revitalizing the 2012 Yeosu World Expo site; pursuing construction of the Yeosu IC and an extension of the expressway; operating the Morning Star Children’s Hospital; and bringing a science high school tailored to the eastern region to Yeosu. These initiatives are directly tied to improving living conditions and fostering the region’s future growth.
 First, the plan to create a “3 Nights, 6 Colors” stay-tourism city aims to make a major shift from one-night pass-through visits to three-night stays. It will develop the Yi Sun-sin Square area as a historical and cultural tourism hub, the Expo area as a global tourism district centered on cruises and MICE, and the Gukdong Port area as a hub for night tourism themed around a “sentimental port.” It also plans to specialize the Ungcheon–SoHo area as a cultural and arts destination, make the Hwayang–Eleven Bridge area a wellness and healing tourism hub, and promote experiential tourism in the Dolsan area, combining leisure with unique experiences. “Designing a New Yeosu for the Next 100 Years”
 The “Blue Food Tech smart complex” project will invest 40 billion won to build an integrated fisheries platform, including a smart processing plant and a research building, at Chonnam National University’s Dundeok Campus. By bringing together in one place the support needed for everything from processing and research to startups and business assistance, the project aims to drive the fisheries industry toward higher value-added industries.
 The Morning Star Children’s Hospital project is intended to help parents, including those in dual-income households, take a sick child to the hospital early in the morning before work, receive medical care and still arrive at work on time. With operations targeted to begin in the first half of next year, the plan is to establish a Yeosu-style child healthcare safety network, together with Moonlight Children’s Hospital, that provides connected care from early morning (Morning Star) through nighttime and weekends.
 Mayor Seo stressed, “Going forward, we will manage projects systematically according to the targets for achieving each pledge during my term and the schedules for individual projects, and actively address any problems that arise in securing funding and carrying out the projects.” He added, “In particular, we plan to increase transparency and accountability by publishing the pledge implementation plans and progress on the city website so that all citizens can check how the pledges are being fulfilled.”

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