Kicks off regional tour starting September 18... Activating a 4-way communication framework among the provincial government, cities, universities, and businesses

Gyeongsangbuk-do announced that it will hold the "2026 K-U City Agreement Corporate Field Briefings" starting September 18.

The "K-U City Project" is a Gyeongbuk-style model to overcome regional depopulation. Under this initiative, the provincial government and municipal/county governments designate regional specialized industries, and participating companies request necessary personnel. Local universities then cultivate customized talent to connect them with employment and local settlement. The number of participating agreement companies more than doubled from 93 in 2023 to 197 as of June 2026.

This series of briefings was arranged to directly materialize the feedback gathered during field consulting in the first half of the year, which emphasized the need to "expand practical communication between universities and businesses" and "upgrade enterprise-tailored curriculum."

This year, to establish an effective field-based communication foundation, the briefings will be held mainly in major cities across four regions: the Northern region (Andong and Yeongju), Southern region (Yeongcheon), Western region (Gumi), and Eastern region (Pohang). Building upon operational performance and improvement measures, the province plans to expand the briefings to all cities, counties, and agreement companies across the province starting next year.

Attendees will include officials from Gyeongsangbuk-do, municipal governments, local universities, and agreement companies leading regional specialized industries (such as secondary batteries, semiconductors, defense, bio-vaccines, future mobility, and bearings).

Participants will review the job competencies required by companies in the field and discuss ways to supplement customized educational programs, such as job training programs or employment-linked contracted departments. They will also discuss ways to link field practice and internships to broaden students' hands-on experience, while listening to recruitment bottlenecks and suggestions experienced by companies in the field.

Based on the suggestions gathered in the field and the results of a preliminary survey, Gyeongsangbuk-do plans to inspect on-site corporate challenges and devise concrete ways to enhance the effectiveness of existing support projects, such as utilizing shared university research equipment and providing troubleshooting technical guidance. Exemplary cooperation cases identified in the field will be shared with other cities, counties, and universities to reinforce the substance of the project operations.

Lee Sang-soo, Director-General of the Local Government Strategy Bureau of Gyeongsangbuk-do, stated, "The core of the K-U City Project is to help young talent trained in the region unleash their capabilities and put down roots in local agreement companies." He added, "By listening attentively to the voices from the field, we will provide practical help to businesses and universities, and continuously build an environment where young people can settle down with peace of mind."