Gapyeong County Strengthens On-Site Communication to Reflect Residents' Voices in County Administration

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Eom In-yong] Gapyeong County is strengthening on-site communication to directly listen to residents' voices at the start of the new year and reflect them in county administration.

To more substantively hear authentic voices from community members, the county is renaming the 'eup and myeon visit' events previously held at the beginning of the year to 'meetings with eup and myeon residents,' breaking away from existing ceremonial events and meeting formats while maximizing resident participation to gather diverse opinions from all sectors. In particular, the conversation time with residents is being doubled from the previous 50 minutes to 100 minutes this year to enhance the quality of the meetings.

Following this, County Chief Seo Tae-won plans to visit six eup and myeon starting with Gapyeong-eup on January 9th through the 14th, continuing the 'meetings with eup and myeon residents.'

At the '2025 Gapyeong-eup Residents Meeting' held at the Gapyeong-eup Administrative Welfare Center on January 9th, 30 representatives from the local community, including village heads, representatives of civic and social organizations, participated to raise concerns and issues in the region. Through this, residents shared requests and problems across various fields such as transportation, welfare, and local commerce, and took time to collectively consider solutions.

Major suggestions raised at the event included △easing traffic congestion at Nami Island and the resulting inconvenience to local residents' vehicle operation △securing parking spaces for local residents △improving transportation systems to address traffic inconvenience in residential areas △expanding promotion and guidance for five-day markets △developing local specialty foods and income-generating crops representative of Gapyeong △measures to expand the Second Gyeongchun National Highway and major transportation infrastructure. The issues concentrated on problems closely related to residents' daily lives.

At the event, County Chief Seo Tae-won said, "I expect this meeting to be a valuable opportunity for Gapyeong County residents and the administration to come one step closer," and added, "Active communication with residents is the driving force behind county administration development. Going forward, I will listen to authentic voices from the field more frequently and reflect them in county policies to build a better Gapyeong together."

Meanwhile, attendees at the Gapyeong-eup residents meeting, including County Chief Seo, Gapyeong County Council members Choi Won-joong and Kang Min-suk, Gyeonggi Province Council member Im Gwang-hyeon, and county government division, department heads and team leaders, listened carefully to residents' opinions.