NEAR Secretary-General Lim Byung-jin attended the 3rd Korea Local Diplomacy Forum 2025, held from December 2 to 3 at the Enford Hotel in Cheongju, Chungcheongbuk-do Province. During the forum, he participated in the pre-event meeting, opening ceremony, official dinner, and discussion sessions, where he introduced NEAR and exchanged views on the future of local diplomacy and directions for cooperation.
The forum was co-hosted by Chungcheongbuk-do Province, the Korean Association of Northeast Asian Studies, and Hankook Daily, with support from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It provided a platform for experts from central and local governments, academia, and the media to discuss development pathways, future tasks, and strategies for advancing local diplomacy.
More than 250 participants, including Governor Kim Young-hwan of Chungcheongbuk-do Province, Lee Yang-seop, Chairman of the Chungcheongbuk-do Provincial Council, Kim Kyung-soo, Chair of the Presidential Committee for Balanced National Development, Kim Min-jae, Vice Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, Chung Ki-hong, Ambassador for Public Diplomacy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kim Hyung-soo, President of the Korean Association of Northeast Asian Studies, Lee Sung-chul, CEO of Hankook Daily, and Yoo Min-bong, Secretary-General of the Governors Association of Korea, among others.
Prior to the opening ceremony, Secretary-General Lim held a pre-event meeting with Governor Kim Young-hwan, Secretary-General Yoo Min-bong, and other distinguished guests. During the meeting, he shared recent developments at NEAR and highlighted it’s role as the largest multilateral cooperation network for regional governments in Northeast Asia. The participants also discussed ways to expand participation from Korean local governments and central ministries, as well as the potential for joint projects leveraging the NEAR network.
During the keynote speeches, Governor Kim Young-hwan outlined the achievements of Chungbuk’s local diplomacy and highlighted the need to broaden international engagement by regional governments. Kim Kyung-soo, Chair of the Presidential Committee for Balanced National Development, introduced the government’s “Five Regional Spheres and Three Special Zones” policy and emphasized the importance of local diplomacy as a means of addressing policy challenges through collaboration with cities abroad.
On the second day, a keynote session titled “Local Diplomacy as a Global Nexus: Challenges and Prospects” examined the current state and future direction of local diplomacy. Secretary-General Lim participated as a panelist, offering perspectives based on NEAR’s practical experience. He shared insights into NEAR’s recent developments, its role in interregional cooperation in Northeast Asia, and broader strategies for advancing local diplomacy.
Secretary-General Lim noted that although Korea’s bilateral exchanges among local governments were highly active, there remains considerable potential for strengthening multilateral regional cooperation. He emphasized that NEAR, as a key multilateral cooperation platform spanning Northeast and Central Asia, should be leveraged to broaden the scope and enhance the overall impact of Korea’s local diplomacy.
Following the discussion session, the forum adopted the “Jungwon Declaration,” which defines local governments as “central actors in international cooperation and a new nexus connecting the world.”