'Pyeongtaek-Jecheon Connection 1274' Business Agreement Signed

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Lee Su-won] On the 12th, Pyeongtaek City signed the 'Pyeongtaek-Jecheon Connection 1274 Business Agreement' with Pyeongtaek Agricultural Cooperative, Jecheon City in North Chungcheong Province, and Jecheon Agricultural Cooperative to revitalize the hometown love donation system and promote mutual development.

Following this business agreement, an inter-organizational cooperation system will be established starting with mutual hometown love donations among agricultural cooperative executives and employees in both cities, and the four organizations plan to cooperate to achieve a 'related population' of 1.274 million for Pyeongtaek and Jecheon.

'Related population' refers to the number of people who have not permanently settled in a particular region but maintain ongoing relationships by regularly and irregularly visiting the region. Considering the symbolism of the Pyeongtaek-Jecheon Expressway (127.4 km), the target related population for both cities was set at 1.274 million.

Pyeongtaek Mayor Jung Jang-seon said, "I express my gratitude to Jecheon City in North Chungcheong Province and the Jecheon branch of the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation for providing this opportunity to revitalize the hometown love donation system and promote mutual development between sister cities," adding "I hope that Pyeongtaek City and Jecheon City will grow together through this agreement."

In response, Jecheon Mayor Kim Chang-gyu said, "I hope that discovering competitive agricultural products and rural tourism resources as thank-you gifts and strengthening mutual promotion will help the hometown love donation system and revitalize the local economy."

The hometown love donation system is a system where individuals can donate to local governments other than their place of residence (up to 5 million won per person annually) and receive tax deductions as well as local agricultural and special products as thank-you gifts. The system has been in operation since January of last year, and donations can be made by accessing the Hometown Love e-um website or visiting agricultural cooperatives.