Nam Kyung-pil: "Gyeonggi Province's Coalition Government Sets New Milestone in Korean Political History"

Gyeonggi Province Governor Nam Kyung-pil said on the 28th regarding the coalition government in Gyeonggi Province, "It has set a new milestone in Korean political history. While maintaining checks and balances, we earned mutual respect and achieved cooperation and compromise."

Governor Nam attended a "Gyeonggi Coalition Government Commemoration Ceremony for 1,426 Days with Citizens" that afternoon and declared the end of the coalition government, which lasted 1,304 days since its launch on August 5, 2014.

Governor Nam stated, "The coalition government was the first experiment and the first challenge. It was a period that demonstrated results and proved the value of cooperation." He added, "Trust and communication with the various legislators who have supported us have been the driving force behind our achievements."

He continued, "Although we each had different political positions, we looked toward the same direction. That direction was the happiness of our people and citizens." He emphasized, "It was beautiful because we adjusted, cooperated, and communicated with different positions, different philosophies, and different policies in the face of this great value of people's happiness."

During the local elections in June 2014, Governor Nam made the coalition government a campaign promise. Shortly after his election, he declared his commitment to cooperative governance that would reflect the voices of the opposition party. Subsequently, the ruling and opposition parties reached agreement on the "Gyeonggi Coalition Government Policy Consultation Agreement," marking the beginning of the Gyeonggi coalition government.

Based on communication and cooperation, Gyeonggi Province's coalition government served as the foundation for provincial administration direction and political ideology, achieving results in diverse areas.

The most notable achievement was the strengthening of communication and cooperation by sharing authority over personnel, policies, and budgets with the opposition party, which stabilized politics and led job creation.

Governor Nam appointed opposition party figures as vice governors for the first time since the launch of local self-governance. He also established and operated coalition government consultative bodies such as the Coalition Government Implementation Committee to strengthen communication between the province and the provincial assembly. This became the foundation for policies promoting citizens' happiness to be implemented smoothly through ruling and opposition party consensus.

Additionally, Gyeonggi Province became the first local government nationwide to introduce a Gyeonggi-style public institution personnel hearing system and operated a public institution management rationalization promotion committee to achieve public institution soundness. The province also revised ordinances on living wages to address social polarization and ensure employment stability.

Based on these efforts, Gyeonggi Province won the Grand Prize for Jobs among local governments nationwide in 2015. In 2016, it achieved first place in the government joint evaluation for the first time in history, followed by a top award in 2017, achieving back-to-back victories.

In particular, according to Statistics Korea, Gyeonggi Province created 178,000 jobs (52.8%) out of 337,000 jobs nationwide in 2017, achieving first place nationwide in job creation for three consecutive years.

Additionally, the province achieved results including ▲introduction of a youth job-seeking support fund system, implementation of a working youth savings account program, and support for youth venture startup ▲construction of multi-transfer bus stations, expansion of double-decker buses, and introduction of seat reservation systems for enhanced citizen safety and convenience ▲implementation of projects supporting low-income debt reduction, securing school meal budgets, establishing living wage systems, and expanding youth bus fare discounts to assist the underprivileged and stabilize household finances ▲creating northern venture creative centers to promote balanced development and build infrastructure for the underdeveloped northern region.

Gyeonggi Province plans to continue implementing 288 coalition government tasks across seven categories submitted to the Coalition Government Implementation Committee, including ▲job creation and economic vitalization ▲youth support ▲citizen safety ▲welfare improvement ▲northern region development foundation ▲provincial administration function enhancement and institutional framework establishment.

Governor Nam stated, "While we will now set aside the coalition government for a time, I think 'the first half has ended. We are taking a brief rest to proceed to the second half.'" He added, "This moment too is a brief respite for the second half of the coalition government, for continued development."

He continued, "The path we traveled together will lead to a greater path, and the period from 2014 to 2018 of the Gyeonggi Provincial Assembly will be one where we can proudly say that Gyeonggi Province was the first to begin the future vision of cooperation and coalition government in Korean political history."

He concluded, "It has been an honor to work with the legislators present here and with our executive branch civil servants. I will not forget this. Our Gyeonggi coalition government will continue."