Gyeonggi Province Introduces Private Expert Evaluation System to Strengthen Regional Balanced Development Project

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Park Noh-hun] Gyeonggi Province announced on the 29th that it will introduce an objective evaluation system by private experts to strengthen the substantive implementation of the 'Regional Balanced Development Project.'

Since the 'Regional Balanced Development Project' has a significant impact on improving infrastructure in underdeveloped areas and enhancing the quality of life for provincial residents, the evaluation system aims to ensure substantive implementation through professional and fair evaluation from the private sector perspective.

To this end, a preliminary evaluation meeting was held on the 27th to discuss evaluation methods and evaluation indicators.

The evaluation will be conducted in three stages—written evaluation, on-site evaluation, and comprehensive evaluation—with the participation of an evaluation committee composed of seven experts in balanced development, including university professors, research committee members from the Gyeonggi Research Institute, and provincial council members.

The evaluation committee will carefully examine three areas: project planning, project implementation, and project effectiveness, with emphasis on the transparency and fulfillment of plans, the efficiency and appropriateness of implementation, and the contribution to regional balanced development.

This evaluation method will be applied annually starting from the 'Second Regional Balanced Development Project,' with performance bonuses to be distributed differentially based on the two-year evaluation results.

Specifically, the plan is to distribute a total of 13.3 billion won in performance bonus project funds differentially in 2022 based on the combined results of the 2020 and 2021 evaluations. Through this, the province plans to encourage the relevant cities and counties to implement projects efficiently and substantively.

Im Soon-taek, Director of Balanced Development, stated, "The Regional Balanced Development Project is contributing to resolving conflicts between regions that hamper declining regional development potential and provincial integration," and added, "With the introduction of this evaluation system, we will pursue thorough project management and evaluation to ensure that taxpayers' money is not wasted."

Last year, the province surveyed and analyzed the regional development level of cities and counties according to the regulations of the 'Gyeonggi Province Regional Balanced Development Support Ordinance' and selected six cities and counties (Gapyeong-gun, Yangpyeong-gun, Yeoncheon-gun, Yeoju-si, Pocheon-si, and Dongducheon-si) as support target regions for the 'Second Regional Balanced Development Project.'

Accordingly, from this year through 2024, a total of 374.6 billion won is being invested in 28 projects, with each city and county receiving 45 billion won annually in provincial funds over five years.

The six cities and counties in the northern and eastern Gyeonggi region are identified as areas facing significant difficulties in regional development due to overlapping regulations such as metropolitan area restrictions and military facility restrictions, weak industrial and economic foundations, insufficient service facilities, and limited financial capacity.