GWANGJU < invest Korea

[Gwangju = Yonhap News] Min Hyung-bae, Mayor of Jeonnam-Gwangju Unified Special City. [Photo = Yonhap News Archive]

According to Yonhap News,

(Gwangju·Muan = Yonhap News) Reporter Hyung Min-woo – Jeonnam-Gwangju Unified Special City, South Korea's first-ever administrative integration model for metropolitan local governments, officially launched on the 1st.

Pursuant to the 'Special Act on the Establishment of Jeonnam-Gwangju Unified Special City,' the unified city assumed its official legal status as of midnight on this day.

Under the provisions of the Special Act, the official term of Min Hyung-bae, the first Mayor of Jeonnam-Gwangju Special City, also commenced.

Mayor Min attended the inaugural plenary session of the Jeonnam-Gwangju Unified Special City Council, held early this morning at the former Jeon남 Provincial Council building in Samhyang-eup, Muan-gun. He began his official duties immediately after taking the oath of office.

With the launch of the unified special city, Jeollanam-do Province and Gwangju Metropolitan City have been abolished, merging Jeonnam's 22 cities and counties along with Gwangju's 5 autonomous districts into a single, unified administrative system.

The Special City Mayor holds a minister-level rank, receiving a legal status equivalent to that of the Mayor of Seoul, and will attend Cabinet meetings to directly convey the region's voice to the central government.

For the first time nationwide, four vice-ministerial-level vice mayors have been appointed to assist the mayor across the distinct portfolios of administration, public safety, economy, and culture.

The organizational blueprint for the unified special city establishes a structure of 4 offices, 7 headquarters, and 24 bureaus, though some realignments may occur following future reviews of administrative demands.

According to the Special Act, the official abbreviation for Jeonnam-Gwangju Unified Special City is designated as 'Gwangju Special City.'

The existing addressing system will retain the names of the original cities, counties, and districts. For instance, an address previously written as 'Yeosu-si, Jeollanam-do' will now be indicated as 'Yeosu-si, Jeonnam-gwangju Unified Special City,' while 'Dong-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City' will be written as 'Dong-gu, Jeonnam-gwangju Unified Special City.'

Administrative codes for the basic local governments were assigned starting with Jeonnam's 5 cities, followed by Gwangju's 5 districts, and concluding with Jeonnam's 17 counties.

Through this administrative integration, Jeonnam-Gwangju Special City is reborn as a mega-regional metropolis boasting a population of 3.2 million and a Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) of approximately KRW 159 trillion.

The city will also receive an unprecedented financial incentive from the central government, totaling up to KRW 20 trillion over four years with annual allocations of KRW 5 trillion.

Furthermore, dynamic breakthroughs in the special city's development are expected, following announcements from Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix regarding massive semiconductor investments reaching up to KRW 800 trillion across Gwangju and the southwestern region.

To facilitate and support these corporate investments, Mayor Min pledged to deploy a substantial portion of the government's financial incentives toward constructing critical infrastructure, including roads explicitly dedicated to semiconductor production facilities.

To ensure systematic backing for these semiconductor enterprises, the Jeonnam-Gwangju Special City Council will process the 'Ordinance Bill on Strategic Investment Support for Global Semiconductors' as its very first legislative act.

Jeonnam-Gwangju Special City plans to officially launch the Jeonnam-Gwangju Semiconductor Strategic Committee and initiate its supportive measures during the mayoral inauguration ceremony, scheduled for this afternoon at the May 18 Democratic Plaza in Dong-gu, Gwangju.

Kang Hyo-seok, Head of the Jeonnam-do Administrative Integration Working Group, stated, "Jeonnam-Gwangju Special City has made its historic launch as of midnight on the 1st." He added, "We have prepared thoroughly to prevent any public confusion resulting from the integration by fully maintaining the names and administrative functions of the primary local municipalities."

minu21@yna.co.kr



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Source Text

Source: Yonhap News (July 01, 2026)

** This article was translated from Korean.