Kim Dong-yeon Emphasizes 'Opportunity'..."Creating a Gyeonggi Province with More, Fairer, and Better Opportunities"

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Park No-hoon] Governor Kim Dong-yeon of Gyeonggi Province promised residents that he will "create an 'Opportunity Capital' Gyeonggi Province where more opportunities, fairer opportunities, and better opportunities are provided."

Governor Kim Dong-yeon made the remarks at the "Matchsontalk-Speaking of Opportunity Capital Gyeonggi" event held at 10:30 a.m. on the 15th in the main auditorium of the Gyeonggi Provincial Government Office.

The event, facilitated by Ban Ho-young, co-chairman of the Governor Transition Committee, was a forum for the governor to directly communicate with residents. Approximately 500 people attended, including various residents from different areas that Governor Kim met during the campaign, excellent policy proposal providers, and general citizens.

Governor Kim personally introduced families with developmental disabilities, market merchants, fishermen, and young job seekers. When introducing a mother who lost her child in the Sewol ferry disaster, he became visibly emotional.

As the event began, Governor Kim spoke about the meaning of "opportunity," saying, "I left public service three years and eight months ago and traveled throughout the country for over two and a half years, meeting many people. At that time, I thought that if our people were given more opportunities and fairer opportunities, their lives would be different." He elaborated: "I lived in a very difficult environment when I was young. I attended school from an unlicensed shack, but fortunately, I benefited from the ladder of social mobility that allowed me to access more opportunities. It seems that today's young people and residents of Gyeonggi Province are not given such opportunities as much."

Governor Kim then emphasized three types of opportunities that society and the community can create: "more opportunities, fairer opportunities, and better opportunities."

He stated, "First, it is to provide more opportunities to everyone. That means dynamism in all aspects of the economy, education, and society. We must pursue high-quality economic growth and eliminate educational inequality to create a ladder of social mobility."

Regarding fairer opportunities, he explained, "Some people are given far too many opportunities while others are not given any. Creating an inclusive and mutually beneficial community where people live together is what creates fairer opportunities."

Governor Kim said, "Finally, I call it 'better opportunities.' There are vulnerable populations and people with disabilities who, no matter how hard we try to create opportunities, cannot access even minimum opportunities. It is about creating a foundation where they can live together."

The governor emphasized, "All of these three aspects are connected to everything in provincial governance. For example, creating a semiconductor cluster or turning Northern Gyeonggi into Gyeonggi North Province to make it the center of Korea's growth are all efforts to create more opportunities. Various measures for vulnerable populations, social mobility, and resolving educational inequality will become individual policies creating fairer and better opportunities. I want to combine all of these to create Gyeonggi Province as an opportunity capital."

The event ran for approximately 90 minutes, exceeding the scheduled one hour, and was also broadcast online through YouTube.

Governor Kim concluded by saying, "Whether large or small in scale, I will create many such opportunities and continue conversations with you," expressing his commitment to ongoing dialogue with residents.