Choo Kyung-ho, the new Daegu mayor, said on the 1st, "The top priority for Daegu's administration is 'the economy,'" adding, "I will make Daegu a city where new opportunities are constantly created as corporations continue investment and innovation and young people return to find jobs."
Choo said in his inaugural address that he would "grow Daegu into a core city for future industries centered on AI and robots, semiconductors, future mobility, and medical and bio," adding, "We will create an investment attraction team and make every effort to attract promising domestic and foreign corporations in future industry fields and global large corporations."
He said, "We will use the AX Committee to accelerate an AI transition in traditional flagship and hometown industries such as textiles, machinery, and metals and help them gain new competitiveness," adding, "Based on a startup growth fund and a deep-tech startup belt, we will build a national flagship startup city—Daegu, where money and people gather."
Choo also said, "From children to seniors, we will ensure that anyone can always enjoy culture, arts, and sports infrastructure within a 15-minute living radius," adding, "On the former site of the North Gyeongsang Provincial Government, we will create a K-culture cluster representing Korea, centered on a National Musical Complex and the National Museum of Modern Art."
He added, "We will reorganize culture and arts public institutions to fit their core functions and roles," and "We will innovate the support system so local culture and arts workers can focus on their essential activities such as creation and performance."
On the Daegu–North Gyeongsang administrative consolidation, he called it "an essential strategy for survival and a leap forward," adding, "We will push ahead unshaken with the goal of administrative consolidation in '28." He continued, "We will rapidly推进 a metropolitan railway that spans Daegu and North Gyeongsang to link the two into a one-hour living zone," and "We will also further accelerate construction of the Dalbit Railway connecting Daegu and Gwangju to grow Daegu into the central axis of a massive southern-region co-prosperity development that ties Yeongnam and Honam."
Choo said, "Any budget that can save even 1 won will be used for citizens," citing the abolition of the mayor's official residence as a concrete example. He added, "If authoritarian practices remain in the public sector, we will root them out. Starting with me as mayor, we will work with humility," and "Through change and growth, we will surely create a better tomorrow for Daegu."