First-ever Resident-Elected District Head Born in Pyeongtaek

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Jung Jun-sung] Pyeongtaek City has elected its first-ever district head directly by residents' hands.

Pyeongtaek City announced on the 16th that residents of Sinpyeong-dong selected candidate Han Sang-o as district head through direct verification and a resident vote under the "Eup-myeon-dong Head Resident Recommendation System," newly introduced this year.

The candidate will be appointed as district head during the city's regular personnel reshuffle next month once the "Sinpyeong-dong Head Recommendation Committee," composed of Sinpyeong-dong residents, notifies the candidate to Pyeongtaek City's Personnel Committee.

On the 15th, a debate was held at Pyeongtaek City's South Culture and Arts Center to verify the district head candidates, and immediately following the debate, resident voting took place at two locations: the South Culture and Arts Center and the Sinpyeong-dong Administrative Welfare Center.

To respond to COVID-19, the resident vote was conducted in parallel with text voting alongside on-site voting, allowing residents to vote by text without visiting polling stations.

During the debate, candidates presented their "district management plans," followed by a question-and-answer session with panels composed of residents to assess the candidates' competency and development potential.

The resident vote held immediately after the debate was conducted with 135 Sinpyeong-dong residents, pre-registered, voting on whether candidate Han Sang-o was qualified as district head.

Of the 135 voting panel members, 92 residents cast votes, showing a 68.1% turnout, with 85 residents, or 92.4%, voting that the candidate was qualified. Sinpyeong-dong residents demonstrated strong support for Han's candidacy.

The "Eup-myeon-dong Head Resident Recommendation System" is a recruitment system that solicits eup-myeon-dong head positions from within the civil service and appoints them through resident recommendation. The resident voting panel evaluates and votes on civil servants who applied for eup-myeon-dong head positions and recommends qualified candidates to the mayor, who holds the appointment authority.