New Year's Address Mayor Jung Myeong-geun of Hwaseong

Respected residents of Hwaseong, numbering 970,000 strong, and beloved public servants!

As we welcome the new year of 2023, the Year of the Rabbit (癸卯年), I wish it will be a hopeful year for all of you. I promise Hwaseong citizens that our city will work diligently, hopping around like a rabbit in service of our people.

Last year, under the slogan "Hwaseong of Hope That Changes My Life," the 8th popularly elected administration of Hwaseong took its first steps. We pursued administrative practices rooted in on-site communication to listen to what citizens truly want from city governance.

Through this process, we learned much and implemented it immediately.

We provided support funds to small business owners and reduced residential taxes to help citizens in crisis.

We also operated a suicide prevention hotline and intensively identified vulnerable households falling through welfare gaps.

Additionally, we held five "Major Citizen Interest Projects Briefing Sessions" to discuss with citizens the direction Hwaseong will take going forward.

In 2022, Hwaseong achieved remarkable results.

We have solidified our position as Korea's leading city, achieving six consecutive years of ranking first nationally in municipal comprehensive competitiveness—a feat no other local government has accomplished—and reaching 81 trillion won in GRDP. We are strengthening the city's foundation by earning awards across various sectors connected to citizens' daily lives.

The Shin-Ansan Line Hyangnam extension project, a long-standing aspiration of residents, received approval from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, and the Dongtan Tram has embarked on basic design, finally getting on track after 13 years.

These achievements of Hwaseong are not the effort of any single person, but the precious fruit of everyone's dedication—from citizens to public servants—who love Hwaseong and worked to create a hopeful city.

Using these achievements as valuable foundation, in 2023 we will continue to engage and communicate with citizens, working together with our public servants to do our very best.

Respected residents of Hwaseong!

Everyone says 2023 will be a difficult year.

Although conditions are challenging, I promise to do my utmost in thorough preparation and response to overcome these difficulties. I will implement diverse policies across all sectors so that citizens can feel change and growth in their daily lives.

First, I will strengthen livelihoods.

I will implement basic income for farmers and fishermen whose income is declining, and provide financial support and customized consulting to small business owners and SMEs to help stabilize their operations.

I will also promote a virtuous cycle of consumption through continued incentives for regional currency and steadily foster the social economy sector to create an economic ecosystem of mutual prosperity and cooperation.

Safety must always be prepared for in advance and cannot be overemphasized.

I will revise safety manuals for rapid disaster response and do my utmost in meticulous safety management across all sectors.

Balanced development is essential for creating a sustainable city with high quality of life and elevating Hwaseong's competitiveness once again.

Through the establishment of the Hwaseong Balanced Development Committee and the City Policy Research Institute, we will present a blueprint for balanced development and establish region-tailored development strategies.

In 2023, Hwaseong is expected to enter an era of one million citizens.

While preparing for the launch of Hwaseong as a special metropolitan city, to establish a metropolitan administrative system befitting its status,

I will achieve the establishment of regular autonomous districts, a long-standing aspiration of our city, through continuous communication with the central government.

Since transportation development is essential for inter-regional linkage and cooperation, transportation infrastructure construction is indispensable to balanced development.

Along with creating an internal circulation road network as a campaign pledge, I will expand public transit routes to respond to changing demands according to regional development.

I will also strengthen continuous cooperation with related agencies so that the 13 railroad lines currently under way can proceed more quickly, and will make every effort to ensure that the planned railroad lines are reflected in national plans.

Furthermore, I will create a comprehensive welfare network so that no one is left behind and all can enjoy welfare benefits.

As the first step in implementing systematic welfare policies to achieve this, we have reorganized our administrative structure.

Through the establishment of the "Department for Infants and Childcare, Department for Child-Friendly Policies, Department for Youth and Adolescent Policies, and Department for Middle-Aged and Elderly Welfare," we will respond to welfare needs across different life stages. We will reorganize eup, myeon, and dong welfare teams into a unified system to concentrate management of vulnerable households and eliminate welfare blind spots.

Respected residents of Hwaseong!

Education is the greatest welfare we can provide to our children.

Learning is not merely staying in the present, but building who you will be in the future.

Our city has been selected for the Ministry of Education's "Future Education District" project for three consecutive years. Through the realization of Hwaseong-style future education, I will invest in education so that students can freely pursue their dreams and grow into future talents, and I will do my utmost to create balanced educational conditions across regions.

Furthermore, the cultivation of future industries is essential for Hwaseong's sustainable development.

I will build the advanced technology complex "Technopolis" to open a solid tomorrow for Hwaseong.

I will not spare strategic support so that companies in our city can take a bigger leap forward, and I will host the 2023 Hwaseong Mobility Expo to widely publicize the excellence of local enterprises.

The more enjoyable and special the time spent in Hwaseong becomes, the more the local economy flourishes.

I will foster the culture and tourism sector so that more people can stay in Hwaseong and create memories.

Through various festivals and the Hwaseong City Sports Day, I will create joyful daily life and add vitality to people's lives.

Furthermore, with military barbed wire removed, I will install coastal decks along the West Coast from Jungok Port to Gungpyeong Port returned to citizens, and I will strengthen competitiveness to emerge as a representative leisure tourism destination in the Seoul metropolitan area.

I will create diverse cultural facilities throughout Hwaseong and prepare substantive content to further enrich our city's cultural tourism infrastructure.

Additionally, I will successfully promote the "Botanic Garden Hwaseong" project that begins in earnest this year, providing citizens with a living and breathing place of rest, and will develop a world-class themed park in the urban space to elevate the quality of urban spaces.

Following last year, in 2023 I will practice the value of communication.

I will establish a Communication Innovation Officer reporting directly to the mayor so that on-site communication can take root, and will engage in active communication with citizens.

I will continue to hold Major Citizen Interest Projects Briefing Sessions to address citizens' questions and concerns, and will practice transparent administration through the Public Works Real-Name System.

970,000 residents of Hwaseong and public servants!

Recently, citizens chose "Hyeokgojungsin" (革故鼎新)—replacing what is old with what is new—as this year's four-character idiom for our city.

Based on the aspirations of all citizens embedded in these characters, I will engrave deeply in my heart the meaning of Hyeokgojungsin—to fix what is outdated and create anew. I will advance the value of "Innovation," one of the three core values of the 8th popularly elected administration, and dedicate myself to building Hwaseong, a future city where anyone would want to live, transcending our population of one million.

I earnestly request your continued support.

For the new year 2023, the Year of the Rabbit, I wish it will be a hopeful year where all your aspirations are fulfilled. I pray that health and happiness will be with all citizens and public servants and their families.

Wishing you all a prosperous new year. Thank you.