Gyeonggi Province Seeks to Enhance Regional Balance Development Projects through Municipal Cooperation

[Suwon Ilbo=Park No-hun] Gyeonggi Province is accelerating systematic management of the 'Regional Balance Development Project' by strengthening cooperation with municipal governments to ensure timely project implementation and maximize effectiveness.

On the 7th afternoon, Gyeonggi Province held a 'Discussion Forum for Efficient Implementation of Regional Balance Development Projects' at the Northern Building of Gyeonggi Provincial Government with Ryu In-kwon, Director of the Balanced Development Planning Office, and vice heads of six municipalities participating in the 2nd Regional Balance Development Project, where development directions for the project were discussed.

The forum shared the current status of the 'Second Regional Balance Development Project,' which marks its second year this year, and urged active interest and cooperation at the vice head level, including provincial-municipal cooperation.

First, moving away from the project implementation method that had been left to municipal autonomy, the province decided to strengthen supervisory management by closely examining business procedures and implementation status at the provincial level and providing administrative support when necessary to ensure projects are completed on schedule.

To this end, the province will periodically review budget execution plans on a monthly and progress basis for ongoing projects, and make efforts in post-management follow-up, including provincial-municipal inspections for completed projects to accelerate the realization of substantive regional development.

In particular, based on the 'Private Expert Evaluation System' introduced from the 2nd Regional Balance Development Project, the province plans to conduct evaluations from a more professional and objective perspective and provide financial support to excellent municipalities.

The evaluation panel currently comprises seven experts in balanced development, including university professors, research fellows from the Gyeonggi Research Institute, research fellows from the Local Government Institute, and provincial assembly members, operating through three-stage evaluations: written assessment, on-site assessment, and comprehensive assessment.

According to the comprehensive evaluation results, the province plans to provide differential allocation of 13.3 billion won in performance bonus project funding, thereby encouraging efficient and substantive project implementation by the respective municipalities.

Ryu In-kwon, Director of Gyeonggi Province's Balanced Development Planning Office, stated, "We must focus on improving residents' living conditions and seeking substantive balanced development that citizens can feel," adding, "We will pursue project efficiency through provincial-municipal cooperation to ensure regional balance development projects are completed on schedule."

Based on the provisions of the 2019 'Gyeonggi Province Regional Balance Development Support Ordinance,' the province surveyed and analyzed the regional development level of municipalities and selected six municipalities—Gapyeong, Yangpyeong, Yeoncheon, Yeoju, Pocheon, and Dongducheon—as recipients of support for the '2nd Regional Balance Development Project.'

Accordingly, from 2020 to 2024, each municipality will receive 45 billion won in provincial funding annually, with a total of 3,796 billion won to be invested in 28 projects.

These municipalities, located in the northern and eastern regions of Gyeonggi Province, are identified as areas facing major regional development challenges due to overlapping regulations including metropolitan area restrictions and military facility regulations, weak industrial and economic bases, insufficient service facilities, and limited fiscal resources.