New Year's Address Baek Gun-ki, Mayor of Yongin

Esteemed 1.1 million citizens of Yongin Special City! Beloved public servants!

A new Yongin centered on people, embracing the dignified spirit of the roaring tiger, has arrived with the Year of the Tiger. The inaugural year of Yongin Special City has begun.

While we welcomed the new year filled with hope and anticipation, the reality facing us remains grave.

The long-awaited restoration of our precious daily lives continues to lag, and our prolonged fight against COVID-19 persists.

This year's top priority is the swift overcome of COVID-19.

Yongin City will mobilize all available administrative capacity to prevent the spread of COVID-19, protect the safety of our citizens, and elevate the quality of life of our residents.

Esteemed citizens!

The world, in the face of COVID-19, is undergoing rapid transformation toward new paradigms across all aspects of society—economics, industry, and the environment.

In 2022, alongside the completion of the 'eco-friendly ecological city and economically self-sufficient city' that we have strongly promoted, we will create a new Yongin centered on people—newer, larger, and greater—by placing all municipal values on people in every sphere affecting citizens' quality of life, from housing and environment to transportation and welfare.

First, we will concentrate administrative resources on realizing 2050 carbon neutrality and establish an advanced eco-friendly ecological city.

We have transformed Yongin City, once synonymous with chaotic development, into an eco-friendly ecological city, making it a desirable place to live.

Last year, we achieved a silver award in the "City Suitable for Living" category at the Living Community Awards, an international competition recognized by the UN Environment Program under the United Nations.

This holds great significance as it represents international recognition of our citizens' and city's collective efforts to create an eco-friendly ecological city.

Entering the Fourth Industrial Revolution era, we will accelerate green energy transition policies including hydrogen charging station construction, renewable energy support, expanded distribution of eco-friendly green mobility, and diesel vehicle phase-out initiatives.

In particular, we will continue our strong promotion of the Gyeongan Stream green belt project, the Kihung Reservoir park development project, and the Idong Reservoir environmental ecological park project, while seamlessly developing thirteen long-pending park projects and improving the Tancheon and Gyeongan Stream walking paths to expand green spaces in the urban landscape where people can walk and linger together.

Second, we will complete an economically self-sufficient city through strengthened competitiveness of small and medium enterprises and semiconductor industry development.

We will strengthen the small and medium enterprise support functions of the Yongin Industry Promotion Foundation and assist export small and medium enterprises in opening new markets through continuous operation of non-contact export consulting offices and civilian translation support programs.

We will also support operational stability through funding assistance such as special guarantees for small and medium enterprises.

Our city has innovated its industrial structure to achieve a remarkable transformation into a cutting-edge industrial city.

At the center of this is semiconductors.

We will swiftly develop industrial complexes including the Second Yongin Techno Valley to respond to increasing demand for semiconductor company locations, and further attract promising domestic and international semiconductor enterprises, solidifying our position as a global semiconductor industry hub.

Third, we will substantially expand rail and road networks and enhance the convenience of public transportation to create a connected city where regions and people harmonize together, a smart transportation city with connections in all directions.

We will strongly promote the Gyeonggang Line extension, SRT Yongin Station and Ori-Dongcheon Station projects, new transit systems connecting Dongbaek, Seongbok, and Shinbong stations, Seoul Metro Line 3 extension, Yongin Light Rail Gwanggyo extension, and new rail connecting Pyeongtak-Bural-Onedam lines. We will strengthen cooperation with related agencies to ensure the Onedam Yongin Semiconductor Cluster is included in the Pyeongtak-Bural line route, and work with citizens to ensure the Gyeonggang Line extension project is realized.

We will accelerate the expansion of connecting roads including Local Route 321 and Local Route 318 in preparation for the opening of the Second Outer Ring Expressway's Seo-Yongin IC and Pogok IC this year and the Second Gyeongbu Expressway's Nam-Yongin IC and Buk-Yongin IC openings next year.

We will also complete the construction of the new Namsa IC and the Kihung IC improvement project within this year to further enhance expressway accessibility.

We will continue expanding main line development connecting key hubs and bus supply capacity, and implement bus semi-public operation to realize universal transportation welfare through stable bus service supply and improved mobility even in transportation underserved areas.

Fourth, through urban regeneration and redevelopment projects in old downtown areas, we will promote residential stability and transform the city into a vibrant and flourishing space with people-centered environments.

Old downtown areas including Singal Five-way, Jung-dong, and Guseong Mabuk will be revitalized into vibrant spaces centered on local residents and young people through urban regeneration New Deal projects.

Additionally, through redevelopment projects, we will improve residential quality of life by enhancing and expanding basic infrastructure in existing urban areas and neighborhoods with dilapidated and substandard buildings. We will provide generous budgetary and administrative support for redevelopment projects in aging apartment complexes, which are continuously increasing, and improve the urban environment in areas difficult to renovate through redevelopment and reconstruction by implementing small-scale redevelopment projects.

Taking the opportunity of the 2022 Korean Urban Regeneration Industry Expo to be held in our city, we will emerge as a Yongin leading Korea's urban regeneration.

Fifth, through various people-centered and citizen-centered policies, we will move toward a city where anyone wants to live and a city that shares hearts together.

First, we will become friends of our youth.

Yongin City will become a city that supports young people's independence and encourages their dreams and bold beginnings.

We will be the first in the nation to support software purchases and provide discharge support grants for military veterans to aid their social reintegration.

We will also launch monthly rent support programs to alleviate young people's housing burden.

Beyond this, we will listen to the voices of young people leading the future and continuously develop and implement customized policies more strongly for youth so they can lay the foundation for success in Yongin City.

We will care for our dreams and tomorrow's leaders—our students—with utmost sincerity.

We will provide admission preparation funds to new students at elementary, middle, and high schools to reduce educational expenses and strengthen the public nature of education.

We will also guarantee commuting rights by supporting safe commute buses to ensure safe school commutes for students and eliminate regional inequalities arising from transportation difficulties.

We will become companions walking together on the path.

We will expand support for maternity grants to households with disabled members and promote social participation, expanded self-reliance foundations, and income security through employment programs for people with disabilities.

Through COVID-19 recovery therapy programs at disabled residential facilities, we will restore the joy of daily life.

We will make every effort so Yongin can be selected as a city for lifelong learning for people with disabilities, creating systematic and sustainable disabled lifelong education environments.

We will become family to elderly residents in need of care by expanding Yongin Silver Care Soon-ee, Korea's first non-face-to-face AI elderly care service.

Citizens' daily lives will transform into a cultural and tourism city filled with joy.

Through the creation of a cultural city that converges with citizens, we will leap forward as a cultural self-sufficient platform city where citizens' daily lives become art and culture.

We will open the Cheonin Fortress History Education Museum and revitalize the Young Kim Dae-gun Path to create a city where history, culture, and tourism harmonize together.

Finally, we will be a steadfast support for small business owners facing more difficulties than anyone.

The suffering experienced by small business owners due to the prolonged COVID-19 crisis over the past two years cannot be expressed in words.

Following last year, we will conduct various promotional events to expand Delivery Express user base and expand Yongin Pay issuance to support increased sales.

For small business operator management stability, we will pursue small business owner vitality card fee support, small business owner premium loan services, small business owner redevelopment environmental improvement support, and small business owner design consulting support.

Esteemed citizens!

2022 is a historic year when Yongin City's status rises to an even greater height.

As mentioned earlier, this is the inaugural year of Yongin Special City.

And for the first time, the Gyeonggi Provincial Sports Festival will be held in Yongin.

It will be a year filled with pride.

With the momentum of great winds and auspicious clouds rising—Daepoongiyun Biyangchang—a bright future for Yongin City is dawning.

Yongin City of citizens, Yongin City for citizens, and Yongin City by citizens will always prioritize citizens and further accelerate people-centered city administration for citizens' happiness and improved quality of life.

Creating a better tomorrow than today is the responsibility of all of us.

I ask for your continued support and attention, and wish happiness abounds in your homes.

Wishing you a happy and prosperous new year. Thank you.

Our citizens are the Mayor of Yongin City.

Yongin City Mayor Baek Gun-ki