Suwon City and Five-Province Hometown Associations Establish 'Public-Private Cooperation System' to Overcome Regional Decline Crisis

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Jung Jun-sung] Suwon Special City and the five-province Suwon-based hometown associations have established a 'public-private cooperation system' to overcome the regional decline crisis.

Suwon City and the Suwon-based Gangwon Province Citizens Association, Chungcheong Province Citizens Federation, Honam Hometown Association, Yeongnam Hometown Association, and Jeju Province Citizens Association signed a 'joint implementation agreement for promoting the hometowns love donation program' at the City Hall situation room on the 26th and pledged mutual cooperation.

The agreement ceremony was attended by Suwon Mayor Lee Jae-jun, Suwon-based Gangwon Citizens Association Chairman Lee Ho-yong, Suwon-based Chungcheong Citizens Federation Chairman Lee Jong-yun, Suwon-based Honam Hometown Association Chairman Kim Ju-hyung, Suwon-based Yeongnam Hometown Association Chairman Kim Sung-ho, and Suwon-based Jeju Province Citizens Association Chairman Park Jung-gyun.

At the ceremony, Mayor Lee and the five-province hometown association chairmen established a 'public-private cooperation system' to overcome regional decline and achieve early settlement of the hometowns love donation program, and agreed to establish collaborative networks by actively coordinating regional co-prosperity and development.

They also agreed to implement projects to increase the 'relational population' in regions facing decline. 'Relational population' refers to people who do not relocate or settle in a specific region but continuously visit the area and engage in various forms of exchange and relationship-building with the region.

The city plans to develop collaborative measures for co-prosperity with population-declining regions and support the establishment of communication and cooperation networks between local governments and hometown associations.

Mayor Lee Jae-jun said, "Many regions are facing extinction crises, which has become a serious social problem. If regions work together with each other and local governments cooperate with citizens, we can find ways to solve this," adding, "I hope today's agreement will be an opportunity for local governments at risk of extinction, Suwon City, and Suwon citizens to achieve co-prosperity with regions facing decline."

Meanwhile, since the hometowns love donation program was implemented last January, Mayor Lee has donated 'hometowns love donation funds' to 11 local governments including regions at risk of extinction and sister cities.

On January 11th, he donated to five local governments: Yeoncheon-gun, Gyeonggi Province (a region at risk of extinction), Jeollabuk-do Province, Taean-gun, South Chungcheong Province, Haenam-gun, South Jeolla Province, and Pohang City, North Gyeongsang Province (a sister city). On February 14th, he donated to six local governments: Goesan-gun, North Chungcheong Province, Bonghwa-gun, North Gyeongsang Province, Cheorwon-gun, Gangwon Province, Geochang-gun, South Gyeongsang Province, Jeju Province, and Hwaseong City.

Additionally, on March 31st, he concluded a 'Suwon-Jeollabuk-do mutual development agreement for forming relational population' with Jeollabuk-do Province and agreed to continue cooperating for relational population formation and mutual co-prosperity.