Hwaseong City Embarks on Full-Scale Push for Four-District System...Ballot for District Names Until 26th

[Suwon Ilbo = Reporter Lee Suwon] Hwaseong City is formally proceeding with the process of establishing ordinary districts by selecting district names and holding city council opinion hearings to officially propose the establishment of four new district offices.

The city is pursuing a metropolitan administrative system restructuring that involves establishing new district offices to improve citizen convenience and provide more efficient administrative services. Beginning in earnest in 2019 with the procedure for establishing ordinary districts, the city has gathered diverse opinions from local political circles and citizens to prepare a district division plan for establishing four ordinary districts, and held regional citizen briefing sessions from July 24 to August 7.

As a result of the regional citizen briefing sessions, 83.8% of attendees approved the four-district division plan, and in a survey conducted through a professional opinion research agency from August 19 to 25, 79.8% of respondents approved the division plan presented by the city.

Based on strong citizen support for the necessity of establishing new district offices and the division plan, the city plans to select district names through citizen voting via the Policy Plaza, go through city council opinion hearings, finalize the ordinary district installation plan, and formally apply for the establishment of four new district offices to Gyeonggi Province and the Ministry of Public Administration and Security.

Prior to the city council opinion hearing, the city is conducting a regional district name ballot through the Hwaseong Citizen Policy Plaza survey system (https://jamundan.hscity.go.kr/jamundan/index.jsp) until the 26th to select district names that reflect the development direction and future vision of Hwaseong City.

This survey targets two nominated district names that were selected through screening by the District Name Selection Review Committee, composed of experts, regional city councilors, and resident representatives from each eup, myeon, and dong, based on criteria of historicity, representativeness, expressiveness, and harmony. The committee reviewed the 1,748 total district name proposals submitted through recruitment conducted from the 22nd to the 29th of last month.

The regional district name candidates under consideration in the survey are as follows: △1st Zone: Mansae-gu, Dangseong-gu △2nd Zone: Hyohang-gu, Donghwa-gu △3rd Zone: Byeongjeom-gu, Hyohang-gu △4th Zone: Dongtan-gu.

Looking in detail at the explanations of the district names, the 1st Zone's Mansae-gu is derived from the historical fact of the Hwaseong March 1st Independence Movement that occurred in areas including Songsan, Seosin, Ujeong, Paltan, Hyangnam, and Jangan, while Dangseong-gu originates from Dangseong, a traditional administrative district in the southwestern region that has been passed down through the Baekje, Goguryeo, and Silla periods.

The 2nd Zone's Hyohang-gu is derived from the historical fact regarding King Jeongjo's "filial piety," and Donghwa-gu takes its name from the historical fact that it was an important route connecting Hanyang and Chungcheong Province from Goryeo to Joseon, as well as from "Donghwa Stream," a river that flows from Bongdam-eup through areas of Bifong-myeon and Maesong-myeon.

The 3rd Zone's Byeongjeom-gu is derived from Tteokjeon-geori, which was a major crossroads and traffic hub as it was a key route from Samnam (Chungcheong, Jeolla, and Gyeongsang provinces) to Hanyang in the past, and takes its name from Byeongjeom Station, which is well-known as a major Gyeongbu Line station. Hyohang-gu, the same as in the 2nd Zone, has been nominated as a candidate based on King Jeongjo's filial piety.

The 4th Zone's Dongtan-gu was selected as a sole candidate as a result of the review committee's deliberation and is currently undergoing a yes-or-no vote. In the case of Hyohang-gu, a district name candidate identical in both the 2nd and 3rd Zones, if the same district name is selected as another zone based on the internal discussion results of the respective zone review committees, the committee decided to prioritize naming based on the highest voter approval rate.

Jeong Myeong-geun, Mayor of Hwaseong City, stated, "This district naming will finalize the regional district names through a Policy Plaza survey with approximately 36,000 participants to ensure fairness and transparency," and added, "We ask for the strong interest and participation of Hwaseong citizens in the district name selection ballot proceeding until the 26th."

Meanwhile, the Hwaseong Citizen Policy Plaza can be accessed through the Hwaseong City Hall website, and citizens can participate in the district name ballot immediately upon registration.