Gyeonggi Province to Host 'Fall Policy Discussion Grand Festival' in Communication with Residents

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Jang Kyung-hee] The 2019 Fall Policy Discussion Grand Festival, jointly promoted by Gyeonggi Province and the Provincial Assembly, will be held for one month from the 2nd to the 30th of next month, consisting of a total of 25 individual discussion sessions: 12 within the Provincial Assembly and 13 across 13 municipalities.

Park Han-jun, Speaker of the Provincial Assembly, co-organizer of the 2019 Fall Policy Discussion Grand Festival, stated, "The provincial policy discussion grand festival is promoted to put various livelihood issues on the policy agenda. This serves as a communication channel where residents, experts, and public officials engage in dialogue for improving the lives of residents." He added, "This policy discussion forum is a cooperative masterpiece established by the 10th Provincial Assembly and the 7th elected term of Gyeonggi Province."

The policy discussion topics to be addressed during this fall policy discussion grand festival were selected based on livelihood issues.

By policy sector, policy discussion sessions are being prepared on diverse topics including local autonomy (2 sessions), economy and labor (3 sessions), construction and transportation (2 sessions), lifelong education (2 sessions), agriculture and fisheries (2 sessions), and environment and water quality (3 sessions).

Notable policy topics worth attention include ▲expansion of metropolitan transportation networks for the third new cities ▲basic income for farmers ▲establishment of the Gyeonggi Province Audit Committee ▲improving the lives of residents in the upper Paldang area ▲implementation of autonomous police system ▲urban regeneration through culture and arts, with numerous topics related to major policies of Gyeonggi Province's 7th elected term.

Discussion sessions to be held in municipal areas include ▲safe operation of Gimpo traditional 5-day markets ▲future directions of Pyeongtaek education and high school standardization ▲exploring alternatives for Han River water management in the Yangpyeong region, which are attracting the interest of local residents.

Rep. Yeom Jong-hyun (Bucheon District 1), of the Democratic Party negotiation group of the 10th Provincial Assembly, stated, "The provincial policy discussion grand festival is a policy foundation that should continue to develop policy-oriented negotiation groups and people-centered provincial assemblies." He added, "If the academic field has academic conferences centered on academic societies, Gyeonggi Province, the nation's largest metropolitan local government, has the provincial policy discussion grand festival that discusses practical matters beyond theory."

Residents are welcome to attend discussion sessions without special application. The venues and times for discussion sessions held in municipalities can be found on the Provincial Assembly website under 'Assembly News.'