Interview with Kim Tae-hwan, Governor of Jeju The following are excerpts from an interview with Kim Tae-hwan, governor of Jeju. ...Ed. What changes have taken place in Jeju following the enactment of the Special Law on the Jeju Special Governing Province The essence of the idea behind the Jeju Special Governing Province can be explained in two dimensions. Firstly, there is the granting of unprecedented autonomy from the central government to such an extent that is well enough to be called as semi-independent. Secondly, it seeks to promote tourism, the primary industry, education and medical services as core engines of growth through deregulation and reshaping of the investment environment. In factual terms, too, there have been considerable changes. Already, a total of 1,062 national duties have been entrusted to Jeju while seven special administrative bodies, such as the regional maritime affairs & fisheries office and the patriots & veterans affairs office, were incorporated into the Jeju provincial government. Above all, we are now endowed with the conditions necessary for the city of Jeju to become a truly free international city as a host of regulations, including those limiting the scope of investment, has been drastically moderated to a virtual state of no regulation. Also, a land banking system has been adopted to promote investment. What are your plans to overcome Jeju's stature as an economy accounting a mere 1% of the nation's gross domestic product Since 2002, Jeju has been pushing ahead the international free city development project. Moreover, we have been raising regional capabilities through such means as the proclamation of the Island of Peace, commissioning of a regional airliner, and the revamping of the administrative structure by integrating cities with counties. In an environment where it is difficult to anticipate any progress without making differences, we have brought up the Jeju Special Governing Province by making changes and innovations. Based on such reforms and policies, including the visa waiver program, deregulation, tax exemption, and the use of English as an official language, we plan make the best use of our geographical advantage, as well as cultural and natural resources, and build a free international city that is environmentfriendly. By utilizing Jeju's clean image, we plan to foster it to become the center of tourism, leisure, education and medical services. What are your plans to realign Jeju's relations with the central government and secure financial assistance The Jeju Special Governing Province was launched under the premise that the financial backing by the central government will not be scaled down from previous levels. To guarantee this, the special law stipulates that 3% of the total "shared tax" be allocated to the Jeju province. Even so, it is forecast that the financial needs of the province will inevitably rise in the future. Considering the fact that Jeju currently receives more than the national median of 3% out of the total subsidies from the central government, there is a need to gradually increase the quota. To this end, the government assistance, as well as close cooperation with the ministries concerned, should be continued. Jeju has been fostering the high-tech industries of IT and BT as its key industries. What are their future prospects Jeju is a treasure house of a variety of bio-resources of over 8,000 species and at the same time a radio-wave clean zone. It has the most suitable environment for the IT and BT industries to make headway. Thus, we have been spending lots of time and energies in fulfilling the vision of becoming a bio-island and make a leap towards a city of 'well-being' businesses and the hub of IT. We have been focusing on developing new bio products into lucrative businesses by fostering the bio industry of health and beauty businesses based on a considerable number of tech patents we have secured. Also, we have been doing our best to provide assistance to local IT firms strengthen their competitiveness in addition to the fostering of specialized R&D centers for the development of digital contents and human resources. We are also confident to open up a new chapter of medical tourism if we can apply the technologies of IT and BT and make the best use of the environment for leisure. In the meantime, the Bottamedi Group of Hong Kong, which formed a consortium with Mirae Medical Foundation and Livechem, signed a memorandum of understanding in June with Jeju College of Technology to build a medical resort on over 330,000 square meters of land by 2009. What are your plans to make Jeju a hub of tourism in Northeast Asia The natural beauty of Jeju itself is enough to make Jeju a world-renowned destination for tourists. Not only the island has been designated as a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO but the natural lava caves in Jeju, too, are at a screening stage to be designated as a Natural Heritage site. In comparison to such merit, however, there are still many shortcomings with respect to accessibility and infrastructure. To resolve this, we are seeking to open up new air routes continuously and push ahead with a plan to make Jeju a free zone for air traffic so that any airliner can make stopovers in the island. In addition, we are also constructing an environment-friendly seaport within the beautiful surroundings in the shape of an artificial island to accommodate luxury cruise liners. We have also been taking various measures to satisfy different tastes of tourists by continuously expanding and enhancing leisure facilities including green fields in addition to convention facilities of different sizes, luxury hotels and condominium-type guest houses that are reasonably priced and pleasant. Along with this, we plan to develop tourist attractions that can convey the unique charms of Jeju by unearthing living and cultural attractions where tourists can see and feel the unique livelihoods of Jeju islanders. What measures do you plan to take to raise the competitive strength of Jeju What is of foremost importance is that we should be building a basis for fostering core industries by utilizing the selfgoverning rights secured by the special law. Above all, we need to have the Big Three rights with regard to the liberalization of air traffic, province-wide tax exemption, and the lowering of corporate tax that I believe should be passed on to us by the central government. Anyhow, the full-blown abilities of Jeju residents and civil servants to self govern is the key to the success since every job depends on people. Accordingly, we plan to open educational programs to elevate their understanding of Jeju's special governance as well as their capabilities to self-govern. By doing so, and by moderating various regulations centering on core industries, we plan to continuously carry out the job of laying down a basis for a free international city.