Gyeonggi Province to Stand Tall as Center of Northeast Asia in 2020!
(Published March 2, 2012)

–Gyeonggi Provincial Comprehensive Plan (2012 to 2020) approved by the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs
-Gyeonggi Province to become ‘Center of a Harmonious Pan-Yellow Sea Bloc’ and ‘Growth Engine of Korea’ 

◇◇ Governor Kim Moon-soo visits a company ⓒ G-News Plus Heo Seon-ryang

“In 2020, the population of Gyeonggi Province will be 14.5 million, the per capita GRDP USD 35,000 and the number of social enterprises 1,000, ten times more than now.”

This ambitious blueprint for Gyeonggi Province will become a reality with the full cooperation of all the residents and organizations of the province.

The Gyeonggi Provincial Comprehensive Plan (2012 to 2020) outlining the province’s development vision and strategies was finally approved by the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs on February 28.

The development plan basically follows the directions prescribed in the National Comprehensive Plan prepared by the Korean central government. The regional plan presents more specific details about development projects related to the province. This regional development plan, in turn, will be used as a guideline for the local development plans of the 31 cities and counties of the province.

The regional comprehensive plan has considered increasing global competition and the need for global cooperation for the period of 2012 to 2020.

In terms of vision, the province presents the notion of the “Center of a Harmonious Pan-Yellow Sea Bloc’ as the province’s ultimate aim. As for the goals to achieve, the province presents the following four: (1) a region leading national growth; (2) a welfare community guaranteeing the wellbeing of residents; (3) a healthy green community; and (4) a region of desirable cultural life.

The regional development plan has divided Gyeonggi Province into three major categories: (1) 8 metropolitan cities (Suwon, Ansan, Bucheon, Goyang, Namyangju, Seongnam and Pyeongtaek); (2) 8 strategic bases (Yongin, Anyang, Osan, Dongtan, Hwaseong-Namyang, Gimpo, Paju-Munsan, Uijeongbu and Icheon); and (3) 18 regional centers. It has presented development strategies for each area.

In terms of core strategies, the province presents the following seven major tasks and challenges: (1) The Creation of a Global Education, Science and Research Belt; (2) The Creation of a Strategic Special Zone for New Growth Industries in Yellow Sea Coastal Areas; (3) The Creation of a New Growth Valley in Northern Gyeonggi Province; (4) The Creation of a Creative City as an East Asian Cultural Hub; (5) The Expansion of the Metropolitan Railroad Network and the Development of a Railway Station Sphere; (6) Economic Cooperation between South and North Korea and the Creation of a Foundation for National Reunification; and (7) The Establishment of Smart Spaces for the Realization of Low-carbon Green Society.

In the meantime, the comprehensive plan presents detailed strategies in the following eight areas of business: (1) International and Inter-Korean Relations; (2) Industries and Economy; (3) Welfare, Women and Safety; (4) Education; (5) Environment; (6) Transportation and Logistics; (7) Culture and Tourism; and (8) Cities and Housing.

The plan has also divided the province into the five major blocs: (1) the Gyeongbu area; (2) the Seohaean (West Coast) area; (3) the Gyeongui area; and (5) the Gyeongwon and Dongbu (East) area. ◇ The matrix of 8 metropolitan cities, 8 strategic bases and 18 regional centers ⓒ G-News Plus

The province submitted the plan to the ministry on December 16, 2011. The approval of the plan on February 28 is significant because the province is now free of central government control over its own regional development plans.

Gyeonggi Province was previously not allowed to set up its own development plan, the only such case among the 8 provincial governments in Korea. It was required to depend on the Seoul Metropolitan Area Readjustment Plan prepared by the ministry, which sought to regulate Seoul City and Gyeonggi Province as one geographical area.

For the first time in history, the province was able to prepare its own development plan for 2012 to 2020, meaning that it has now recovered its identify.

Gyeonggi Province has long been restrained in its efforts to develop and expand by a variety of restrictive measures imposed by the central government. The province has achieved a major step forward in that it has now established its master plan for long-term development.

Once again, the significance of the comprehensive provincial development plan is that the central government has accepted the province’s consistent requests to be genuinely independent of central government control, particularly in the area of regional development planning.

An official of the province said, “Gyeonggi Province has been unable to implement its own development plan since 1980, when the Seoul Metropolitan Area Readjustment Planning Act was sanctioned, and the province has had to follow the dictates of the plan prepared by the central government.” He continued, “We have consistently requested genuine provincial autonomy in establishing and implementing a comprehensive development plan, and the central government has finally agreed to our proposition.”

ⓒG-News Plus / Park Gwan-sik malbut@kg21.net

http://gnews.gg.go.kr/news/news_detail.asp?number=201203021832391395C052&s_code=C052