Leading South Korea's Future as an Eco-Smart City

"I will do my utmost to ensure that Hwaseong, which has achieved the greatest development in the nation over the past decade, grows into an eco-smart city that will lead South Korea."

Hwaseong Mayor Chae In-seok held a media meeting on the 3rd anniversary of the 6th popular elected term on the 19th at Hwaseong Dream Park in Maehyangri, Ujeong-eup, where he introduced achievements to date and presented future visions for Hwaseong.

Mayor Chae stated, "There is no other city in the nation that has brought about such dramatic changes in such a short period as Hwaseong," and added, "Based on the results of changing systems, building foundations, and laying infrastructure to date, we plan to further accelerate development."

In particular, Mayor Chae proposed an "eco-smart city" as a development strategy that achieves sustainable growth while preserving the environment, drawing a city vision that realizes the possibility of becoming one of the world's four wealthiest cities as predicted by the global consulting group McKinsey.

Mayor Chae emphasized, "This place where we now stand, Maehyangri, is a microcosm of the future Hwaseong," and stated, "Just a few years ago, this land was nothing but a wasteland by the sea as a U.S. Air Force bombing training range, but has now transformed into a land of hope where children from across the nation and beyond Asia enjoy their dreams on Asia's largest youth baseball field."

Hwaseong, which has entered Season 2 of creative and intellectual education, is promoting the School Complex Facilities Iumteo. Starting with the Dongtan Central Iumteo, which opened at the end of last year, the city is creating 20 Iumteo facilities by 2020 and transforming itself into one massive village education community.

Mayor Chae said, "Creative and intellectual education is at the center of Hwaseong's development," and added, "I am pleased that it has been recognized as a new paradigm for South Korea's public education."

On this occasion, Mayor Chae cited major achievements over the past three years including achieving a zero-debt city, successfully hosting the Gyeonggi Province Sports Festival and Boat Festival, fostering the social economy, promoting Gungpyeong Port as a comprehensive tourism destination, expanding multi-directional transportation networks, designation as a women-friendly city, and establishing a safe city.

Hwaseong, which has achieved remarkable development, has seen its regional gross product reach 39 trillion won—a four-fold increase compared to ten years ago—with annual budgets growing in tandem to nearly 2 trillion won.

Social enterprises have more than doubled from 80 in 2014 to 165 as of the end of June, and Hwaseong's signature elderly employment project "Nonno Café" has expanded to 51 locations, demonstrating remarkable growth in the social economy that values human worth.

Mayor Chae stated, "Hwaseong as an eco-smart city will become a reference case for cities around the world," and added, "We will never stop our pursuit toward the future and will do our utmost to dedicate ourselves to that path."