Democratic Party Pledges to Develop Gimhae as 'Hub City of the Southeastern Region'

The Democratic Party's candidates for Governor of Gyeongnam Province and Mayor of Gimhae pledged on the 4th to foster Gimhae as a core city within the economic bloc encompassing Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam (the Bu-Ul-Gyeong Mega City). Kim Kyoung-soo, the candidate for Gyeongnam Governor, and Jeong Young-doo, the candidate for Gimhae Mayor, announced at a press conference their commitment to making Gimhae the core of the 'Bu-Ul-Gyeong 30-Minute Living Zone' and a central hub for the 1 million-strong population of eastern Gyeongnam, presenting a strategy for structural transformation across Gimhae's transportation, industry, and healthcare sectors.

Candidate Kim Kyoung-soo stated he would establish Gimhae as a 'metropolitan transportation hub' to reduce travel times within the Bu-Ul-Gyeong Mega City. He explained that by building a new KTX Gimhae Station for direct access to Seoul and Gadeokdo Airport, and by integrating it with the Southern Coast Metropolitan Express Railway, the Bujeon-Masan Line, and the Southeastern Circulation Metropolitan Railway, a transportation network would be created allowing travel to major Bu-Ul-Gyeong hubs from anywhere in Gimhae within 30 minutes. Furthermore, to foster Gimhae's small and medium-sized enterprises as leaders in next-generation AI power semiconductors and bio-medical industries, he proposed the creation of a specialized zone for AI power semiconductor manufacturing, linked to the Daedong Advanced Industrial Complex and the Jilrye Technovalley. Regarding healthcare infrastructure, he promised the early commencement of construction for the Eastern Gyeongnam Medical Center to meet the public healthcare demands of the 1 million-strong living zone encompassing Gimhae, Miryang, and Yangsan, emphasizing the establishment of a healthcare safety net for Gyeongnam Province.

Candidate Jeong Young-doo presented specific pledges for Gimhae's grand transformation, including the construction of the Roh Moo-hyun Convention Center, the promotion of the National Gaya History and Culture Center to a higher official rank, and the pursuit of the 2042 Gaya Expo. He expressed his goal to construct the Roh Moo-hyun Convention Center near the KTX Gimhae Station area, integrating it with a youth startup cluster and a content innovation town to create a 'Gimhae version of Technovalley'. This initiative aims to resolve the imbalance in exhibition and convention infrastructure within Gyeongnam and spread the values of decentralization and balanced national development. He also added that by elevating the National Gaya History and Culture Center's status, a national system for the preservation of Gaya artifacts would be established, and based on this, the '2042 Global Ancient Capital Gaya Expo' would be pursued as an internationally certified event.

The two candidates appealed for support, asserting that the 'Grand Transformation of Gimhae,' which they described as 'designed by the governor, executed by the mayor, and fully supported by the central government,' would lead to victory for Gimhae, Gyeongnam, and South Korea.