Korea Times President and Publisher Oh Young-jin, left, poses with Jinju Mayor Jo Kyoo-il, center, and Jinju K-Entrepreneurship Foundation Chairman Kim Jong-wook after signing a memorandum of understanding at Jinju City Hall in South Gyeongsang Province, Friday. Courtesy of Jinju City

The Korea Times, the nation's oldest English-language daily, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Jinju City and the Jinju K-Entrepreneurship Foundation to promote Korea's entrepreneurial spirit on a global scale.

The signing ceremony was held on Friday at Jinju City Hall in South Gyeongsang Province, attended by Korea Times President and Publisher Oh Young-jin, Jinju Mayor Jo Kyoo-il, Jinju K-Entrepreneurship Foundation Chairman Kim Jong-wook and other officials.

The agreement seeks to establish a collaborative framework among the three parties to highlight the excellence of Jinju's K-entrepreneurship, which embodies the entrepreneurial spirit of four prominent conglomerates — Samsung, LG, GS Corp. and Hyosung. Notably, the founders of these companies — Samsung's Lee Byung-chul, LG's Koo In-hoe, GS's Hur Man-jung and Hyosung's Cho Hong-jai — all attended Jisu Elementary School in Seungsan Village, Jinju.

The MOU also aims to foster an ecosystem for entrepreneurship development both domestically and internationally.

The key elements of the agreement include: promoting Jinju's K-Entrepreneurship globally, collaborating on hosting the Jinju International Forum on Entrepreneurship and enhancing the international presence of Jinju's K-Entrepreneurship. The city has been hosting the international forum since last year.

"We are delighted to collaborate in sharing the entrepreneurial spirit of the founders of global companies, who grew their businesses from Jinju and became pillars of Korea's economy, with international readers. We will spare no effort in supporting Jinju's journey to establish itself as a global city of entrepreneurship," Oh said.

Jo said, "This agreement with The Korea Times will serve as a significant stepping stone for Jinju City to emerge as a global hub of entrepreneurship. Moving forward, we will work closely together to transform Jinju into a world-renowned capital of entrepreneurship."

Expressing optimism about The Korea Times playing a key role in promoting the excellence of Jinju's K-entrepreneurship, Kim said, "Together, let us transform the Jinju International Forum on Entrepreneurship into a leading economic forum representing Korea, akin to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland."