New Year's Message from Mayor Jung Myung-geun of Hwaseong

Dear esteemed citizens of Hwaseong, one million strong!

And beloved public officials, numbering over 3,100!

A new year has dawned—2024, the Year of the Dragon.

I hope that all of you will enjoy good health and be filled with happiness and joy in your homes and daily lives as we receive the fortunes of the blue dragon throughout this year.

The beginning of a precious year stirs the heart of everyone.

Especially this year, which marks our first new year following the achievement of a one million population milestone, makes this beginning all the more meaningful.

Throughout 2023, our city achieved remarkable growth despite challenging domestic and international conditions.

We ranked first nationwide for seven consecutive years in comprehensive local autonomy competitiveness and achieved 91 trillion won in Gross Regional Domestic Product, confirming once again that Hwaseong is the nation's leading city.

I extend my deepest gratitude to all citizens and public officials who dedicated themselves to the growth and development of Hwaseong over the past year.

Last year was a meaningful year in which we witnessed the touching moment of reaching one million residents.

Through the ceremony to present the one millionth citizen certificate, we officially declared the opening of the era of one million Hwaseong citizens, and through our future vision declaration, we pledged together with our citizens the vision of a city where imagination becomes reality.

Now a hopeful future is drawing near—a city where everyone wants to live, where citizens take pride in living in Hwaseong.

Toward a city that is better to live in, better to work in, and more enjoyable, in 2024, I will soar forward powerfully alongside one million citizens.

Dear esteemed citizens of Hwaseong,

And public officials!

While some say the conditions and prospects before us this year are not favorable, our city will do its utmost to improve the quality of life for our citizens based on the solid trust we have built with one million residents.

We will concentrate administrative capabilities in all sectors including transportation, economy, culture, education, and welfare.

We will also execute efficiently the 3.185 trillion won main budget for this year to ensure that productive policies are properly implemented and city administration is actively pursued.

Next January, there will be the launch of Hwaseong as a Special-Status Municipality, which we all anticipate.

Alongside this new leap forward, we will make full preparations to create a special-status municipality that can transform the lives of all Hwaseong citizens.

We will further advance citizen-centered administration and the value of communication, and open the future of Hwaseong with strength and vigor.

Dear esteemed citizens of Hwaseong,

And public officials!

We now live in a rapidly changing era.

As energy transition due to climate change and digital transformation based on Fourth Industrial Revolution technology accelerate, Hwaseong must also respond in pioneering new ways.

The climate crisis and energy transition that have already arrived will surely present us with new opportunities.

As a municipality with excellent ESG ratings, Hwaseong is enhancing its capacity toward sustainable development and will actively pursue climate change response going forward.

In particular, including the H-Techno Valley, Gyeonggi Province's first RE100 industrial complex being developed in Yanggam-myeon and surrounding areas, we will spare no administrative support so that all future industrial complexes entering our city can be developed as RE100 industrial zones.

Hwaseong has the environment and conditions where Fourth Industrial Revolution technology can be best applied.

Industries with global competitiveness such as eco-friendly semiconductors and future mobility are growing, and materials, components, and equipment industries that support advanced technology are advancing in mutual growth within our city.

Hwaseong's administration is also pursuing innovation administration utilizing big data and advanced technology in various ways, including selection as an autonomous vehicle demonstration city, establishment of digital road systems, and installation of crime prevention facilities through satellite data analysis.

Among all resources, opportunity is said to be the most powerful.

Hwaseong will seize our strengths as opportunities and actively prepare for the future transformation.

Above all, we will do our utmost to make our city worthy of the pride of one million citizens and the development of Hwaseong.

Dear esteemed citizens of Hwaseong,

And public officials!

This year's guiding phrase, chosen by our citizens, is "Ten Thousand Streams, One Bright Moon" (萬川明月).

Just as a bright moon casts its light evenly upon all streams, it embodies the wishes of Hwaseong citizens that city administration allow all hopes of one million residents to be realized.

The practice of "Ten Thousand Streams, One Bright Moon" cannot be accomplished by me alone, nor should it be.

All public officials, including myself, must strive with steadfast dedication and illuminate the darkness like a bright moon.

We hope our citizens will continue to support us with unchanged encouragement and participation.

Dear esteemed citizens of Hwaseong,

And public officials!

Poet Jung Chae-bong once wrote in a poem titled "Original Heart":

"If you live a whole year / with the first heart you gain while washing your face with cold water on the morning of January 1st, / because that moment is always new whenever it comes, / each day becomes fresh, deeper, and broader."

In this new year of 2024, the Year of the Dragon, I hope you will live with an original heart and create a year of great value.

Wishing you much happiness in the new year. Thank you.

January 1, 2024

Jung Myung-geun, Mayor of Hwaseong