"Gyeonggi Province's Cooperative Governance Becoming Mainstream of Korea"

The Gyeonggi Province Cooperative Governance Executive Committee held its fifth meeting of 2017 on the afternoon of the 18th in the main conference hall of the Gyeonggi Provincial Assembly, discussing the implementation status of safety and fire service-related cooperative governance projects, the promotion status of the Gyeonggi Province new administrative building construction project, and major pending issues and agenda items.

Gyeonggi Province Governor Nam Kyung-pil attended before the meeting and stated, "The participation of the People's Party as a subject of cooperative governance and Gyeonggi Province's zero-debt declaration are products of cooperative governance," adding, "The Gyeonggi cooperative governance that originated in Gyeonggi Province and has taken root as the spirit of the times is becoming the main flow of Korea's reality beyond political experimentation."

Governor Nam further said, "Gyeonggi Province will earnestly begin to resolve job market mismatches based on cooperative governance," and urged, "The Cooperative Governance Executive Committee, which is the control tower of Gyeonggi cooperative governance, should exercise significant leadership and role."

Co-Chair Kang Deuk-gu, Vice Governor for Cooperative Governance, stated in his remarks, "Gyeonggi cooperative governance has special characteristics of sharing and dividing power, inter-party partnership, and respect and consideration," and urged, "With the participation of the People's Party, cooperative governance will exercise greater power, and let the provincial assembly and executive branch unite their strength to lead citizens' happiness."

Co-Chair Park Seung-won, representative of the Democratic Party, remarked, "Central politics such as the National Assembly should learn the cooperative spirit from Gyeonggi cooperative governance," and said, "Let the provincial assembly and executive branch put their heads together to ensure that all 288 cooperative governance projects are completed successfully."

Co-Chair Choi Ho, representative of the Liberty Korea Party, also stated in his remarks, "Cooperative governance is when the majority listens to minority opinions," and emphasized, "As the subjects of cooperative governance have expanded with the People's Party's participation, let the three parties collaborate to create a happy Gyeonggi Province for its citizens."

Co-Chair Choi Chun-sik, representative of the People's Party, said in his remarks, "I am pleased to participate in cooperative governance," and expressed his initial impressions, "I will do my best to find ways to contribute to Gyeonggi cooperative governance."

Additionally, Kim Chi-baek, senior vice representative of the People's Party, Han Gil-ryong, the 6th Cooperative Governance Committee Chair, and newly appointed Jo Cheong-sik, Director of Planning and Coordination, who attended the meeting for the first time following the expansion of the Cooperative Governance Executive Committee members, expressed their commitment to ultimately contribute to building a happy Gyeonggi Province for citizens through cooperative governance.

During the meeting, the committee first reviewed the implementation status of cooperative governance projects related to safety and fire service policies, prioritizing the lives and safety of citizens and working to create a safe Gyeonggi Province free from various disasters and accidents.

The 2017 fire and safety policy-related cooperative governance budget totaled 76.928 billion won, representing an increase of 25.691 billion won compared to 2016 (51.237 billion won), demonstrating that the effects of Gyeonggi cooperative governance have been reflected in increased safety and fire service policy budgets and expanded projects.

Kang Tae-seok, Director of Gyeonggi Province's Disaster and Safety Headquarters, reported, "Through the promotion of cooperative governance projects, we are making efforts in disaster and accident prevention while preparing systems for rapid response and recovery, and are implementing diverse policies to create a safe living environment for provincial citizens."

The committee also discussed "the promotion status of Gyeonggi Province's new administrative building construction," which began construction on July 15th, and "permanent measures for drought," which is becoming commonplace and occurring repeatedly due to climate change, among other major pending issues and agenda items, and explored alternatives.

Vice Governor for Cooperative Governance Kang Deuk-gu urged, "Safety policy is a matter of protecting citizens' lives and property, and cannot be overemphasized," and stated, "Let us redouble our efforts so that cooperative governance projects bear fruit one by one and citizens can experience the results of cooperative governance."

The meeting was attended by 13 cooperative governance executive committee members including Vice Governor for Cooperative Governance Kang Deuk-gu, Democratic Party Representative Park Seung-won, Liberty Korea Party Representative Choi Ho, People's Party Representative Choi Chun-sik, Democratic Party Senior Vice Representative Kim Jong-seok, Liberty Korea Party Senior Vice Representative Im Doo-soon, People's Party Senior Vice Representative Kim Chi-baek, Liberty Korea Party Policy Committee Chair Bang Seong-hwan, Liberty Korea Party Senior Spokesman Park Jae-soon, Second Cooperative Governance Committee Chair Kwon Tae-jin, Fourth Cooperative Governance Committee Chair Kim Dal-su, Sixth Cooperative Governance Committee Chair Han Gil-ryong, and Director of Planning and Coordination Jo Cheong-sik, as well as approximately 50 relevant government officials from Gyeonggi Province's departments.