NEAR Membership History

• 1996 : Gyeonggi-do Province, Gangwon-do Province, Chungcheongbuk-do Province, Chungcheongnam-do Province, Jeollabuk-do Province, Jeollanam-do Province, Gyeongsangbuk-do Province, Gyeongsangnam-do Province, and Jeju Special Self-Governing Province joined the Association, as founders.
• 2000 : Busan Metropolitan City joined.
• 2006 : Daegu Metropolitan City joined.
• 2008 : Incheon Metropolitan City, Daejeon Metropolitan City, Gwangju Metropolitan City, and Ulsan Metropolitan City joined.
• 2012 : 16, excluding Seoul Special City, out of the 17 Korean local governments have joined, with the joining of Sejong Special Self-Governing City.

Major Activities

• 1996 : In the spirit of reciprocity and equality in Northeast Asia, the Association was established in Gyeongju City, Gyeongsangbuk-do Province, enacting the “Charter of Association,” to exchange and cooperate in administration, economics, and cultural experiences between Northeast Asian members. Lee Eui-keun, the governor of Gyeongsangbuk-do, was elected as the first chairperson.
• 1998 : Gyeongsangbuk-do Province established and hosted the Subcommittee on Economy and Trade to bring economic revitalization and promote trade in Northeast Asia, as it undertook the role of Coordinator.
• 1999 : The second Subcommittee on Economy and Trade was held. (Operating a green card system of Northeast Asia was proposed for the convenience of businesspersons)
• 2002 : The third Subcommittee on Economy and Trade was held. (Discussions were made on ways to invigorate economic and trade exchange among members of the Association)
• 2003 : The fourth Subcommittee on Economy and Trade was held. (Foreign investment request, joint development proposals, etc.)
• 2004 :
  • At the fifth General Assembly, held in Heilongjiang Province, China, Gyeongsangbuk-do Province attracted the Secretariat of the Association. (The Secretariat was established in Pohang City, Gyeongsangbuk-do Province in May 2005)
  • Busan Metropolitan City applied to be the sixth chair regional government and was selected.
  • The fifth Subcommittee on Economy and Trade was held. (Meetings on specialized items were held)
• 2005 : The sixth Subcommittee on Economy and Trade was held. (Discussions were made on ways to invigorate economic and trade exchange in Northeast Asia)
• 2006 :
  • The sixth General Assembly was held under the theme, “Common Prosperity in Northeast Asia and the Roles of NEAR” in Busan Metropolitan City, the Republic of Korea, and the Subcommittee on Science and Technology (Gyeonggi-do Province) was newly established.
  • The seventh Subcommittee on Economy and Trade was held. (Group trade meetings, exhibition of outstanding products of Gyeongsangbuk-do Province, etc.)
• 2007 :
  • The first Subcommittee on Science and Technology was held under the theme, “Devising ways to cooperate in the field of science and technology between local and regional governments.”
  • The eighth Subcommittee on Economy and Trade was held. (Replaced by the 2007 NEAR International Economic Forum and multilateral trade meetings)
• 2008 : At the seventh General Assembly, Gyeonggi-do Province applied to be the eighth chair regional government and was selected.
• 2009 :
  • The second Subcommittee on Science and Technology was held under the theme, ways to develop biotechnology. (Case presentations on international cooperation in the bio field, devising ways to cooperate in the bio industry in Northeast Asia, etc.)
  • The ninth Subcommittee on Economy and Trade was held. (Presentations on best practices regarding overcoming economic crises for each member regional government)
• 2010 : The Subcommittee on Energy and Climate Change (Daegu Metropolitan City) was newly established.
• 2011 : The Subcommittee on Bio-medical Industry (Chungcheongbuk-do Province) and the Subcommittee on Agriculture (Jeollanam-do Province) were newly established at the 8th meeting of Working Committee.
• 2012 :
  • At the ninth General Assembly, Jeollanam-do Province applied to be the 10th regional government and was selected.
  • The first Subcommittee on Energy and Climate Change (Daegu Metropolitan City) was held. Discussions were made on ways to cooperate between regional governments to respond to energy cries and climate change,
• 2013 :
  • The first Subcommittee on Agriculture (Jeollanam-do Province) was held. Discussions were made on ways to produce agricultural products in a stable manner regardless of climate change.
  • At the 9th meeting of Working Committee, the name of the Subcommittee on Economy and Trade was changed to the Subcommittee on Economy and Humanities Exchange.
  • The 10th Subcommittee on Economy and Humanities Exchange was held. (Case presentations on village businesses and the cooperative union in Gyeongsangbuk-do Province)
• 2014 : The first Subcommittee on Biomedical Industry (Chungcheongbuk-do Province) was held to make known the technology level of the cutting-edge Bio-industry and raise awareness of the Bio-industry among participant member regional governments.
• 2015 :
  • The second Subcommittee on Agriculture (Jeollanam-do Province) was held. Agricultural policies of member regional governments were exchanged under the theme, ways to implement sustainable eco-friendly agriculture.
  • The 11th Subcommittee on Economy and Humanities Exchange was held. (Presentations were made on ways to strengthen economic cooperation among members of the Association)
• 2016 : At the 11th General Assembly (Irkutsk Region, Russia), the Subcommittee on Science and Technology was abolished, and the coordinatorship of the Subcommittee on Energy and Climate Change was handed over to Shanxi Province, China.
• 2017 : The 12th Subcommittee on Economy and Humanities Exchange was held. (Keynote speech and case presentations, Korean culture experience and exploration)
• 2019 : The 13th Subcommittee on Economy and Humanities Exchange was held. (Participant regional governments’ case presentations on regionalism and trans-border cooperation in Northeast Asia)

 

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