By Oh Young-jin
Incheon’s city motto is “Heart of Korea, Economic Pulse of the Nation.”
When Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon asked, “What about Seoul?” after glancing at the motto printed on the business card of Song Young-gil, the mayor of the western gateway of Korea, responded, “I will let you have the head.”
Enriching his city of 3 million people in economic terms is the top priority of Song, a third-term opposition lawmaker who came back to beat the incumbent and became the mayor of Incheon in last year’s local elections.
The 48-year-old former labor leader has a clear plan to press ahead with his top priority ― globalization on both a personal and city level. On a personal level, he has assigned a significant portion to learning foreign languages. His English has reached the level at which he can give a presentation during trips overseas. He is also learning Chinese and Japanese. Improving his proficiency in multiple foreign languages well suits his vision for his city and beyond.
“Nothing, whether it is a person or a city, can survive and prosper without a growth plan,” Song declared during a recent interview with The Korea Times at his office.
His growth plan comes down to three areas.
First, he sees an international city in Songdo, a long-term project, inside the free economic zone (FEZ), as an integral part of his globalization plan. Before he took office the Songdo City Plan had been turning into a white elephant riddled with a number of problems. Gale International, the lead firm of the mega-development project often complained about the lack of support that started during the administration of the late President Kim Dae-jung both at a city level and from the central government.
Now, it is back on the radar.
A two-prong approach to the project is being taken.
One is the so-called Med City plan that is gathering momentum with the commitment of Samsung Group to set up shop for its new growth field of bioengineering. Samsung will start with a budget of 330 billion won or about $300 million for the lot as large as 300,000 square meters but may grow to be a 3.3 trillion won project.
Also in Song’s plans is Centrion, a young legend in Korea’s bio industry, which produces biosimilars, powerful copies that are as effective as the originals. CJ Group and GE Healthcare are among those already making their presence felt. CISCO, the computer system provider, together with KT, the leading telecom firm, are discussing ways of further serving Incheon’s U-City plan.
Plus, a number of global hospitals have decided to join or are in negotiations. They include Johns Hopkins, Harvard University, Seoul National University and Samsung Medical Center.
World-renowned university research centers including a joint venture between the Incheon-based Inha University and the University of Utah are setting up research facilities here.
“They are components that complete our city plan to provide a full cycle of medical services from research, production and treatment,” the mayor said.
This plan accompanies his North Korea initiative.
“Incheon can act with great synergy as a logistics point for two North Korean cities ― Gaeseong for light industry products and Haeju for heavy industry,” he said. “This can help Korea get out of the situation of a nut caught between the two arms of the nutcracker ― the one arm of Japan for high-tech industry and the other arm of China for cheap labor products.”
This could be a solution to introducing lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula as well as groundwork to prepare for the dawn of the China era, he said.