NEAR Secretary-General Lim Byeong-jin visited the Gyeongsangbuk-do Provincial Government Office on August 10 (Mon) and paid a courtesy call on Lee Cheol-woo, Governor of Gyeongsangbuk-do.
Secretary-General Lim first congratulated Governor Lee on his election to a third consecutive term as governor. During the meeting, Secretary-General Lim briefed Governor Lee on NEAR’s major achievements during the first half of the year and its key events planned for the second half, including the 「NEAR+2 Northeast Asia+2 Local Cooperation Forum」 (August 20), which will invite members of the diplomatic corps; the 「NEAR Youth Policy Forum」 (October 9), held in conjunction with the World Gyeongju Forum; and the 「NEAR 30th Anniversary International Forum (November 12)」. He also invited Governor Lee to attend the 「NEAR 30th Anniversary International Forum」 to be held in Gyeongju in November. He also expressed appreciation for Gyeongsangbuk-do’s continued and active support for NEAR, including its full funding of the NEAR Secretariat’s operating expenses, which has enabled NEAR to grow into the largest multilateral platform for local-government exchange and cooperation encompassing not only Northeast Asia but also Central Asia and ASEAN. He also noted that Korea is scheduled to take over the NEAR chairmanship next year and asked Governor Lee to give consideration to assuming the position of NEAR Chair.
In response, Governor Lee highly praised NEAR, saying that it is playing an increasingly important role in promoting exchange and cooperation among metropolitan and provincial governments in Northeast Asia. Governor Lee expressed his hope that NEAR’s major events scheduled for the second half of the year would be held successfully and that NEAR would grow into an even more influential international organization for local governments, extending its reach beyond Northeast Asia to Central Asia and ASEAN. He also confirmed that he would attend the International Forum Commemorating the 30th Anniversary of NEAR’s Establishment in Gyeongju and said that he would consider taking on the NEAR chairmanship.
Governor Lee Cheol-woo served three terms as a member of the National Assembly from 2008 to 2017 and has served as Governor of Gyeongsangbuk-do since 2018, currently in his third consecutive term.
Meanwhile, during his visit to the Gyeongsangbuk-do Provincial Government Office, Secretary-General Lim also met with Executive Vice Governor Hwang Myeong-seok and Director-General Lee Gyeong-gon of the Bureau of Economy and Trade. He introduced NEAR’s major achievements in the first half of the year and its schedule of events for the second half, and the parties agreed to work closely together to ensure the successful organization of the Economic and Humanities Subcommittee event, which will be held in conjunction with the International Forum Commemorating NEAR’s 30th Anniversary.