Mayor Jung Myeong-geun of Hwaseong Special City: "We Will Confidently Move Forward as a Leading City of the Future"

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Park Chan-hyuk] Mayor Jung Myeong-geun of Hwaseong Special City held a 3-year briefing for the 8th popular election term at the City Hall conference room on the 1st, directly explaining to citizens and the press the major achievements of the past three years and the future direction of city administration.

At the briefing, Mayor Jung reflected on the significance of the three years since taking office and reviewed meaningful changes and achievements made with 1.05 million citizens.

In particular, under the principle that "citizens' lives are the standard of city administration," he emphasized achieving substantive results across all sectors including livelihood stabilization, advanced industry development, transportation innovation, and cultural and welfare expansion.

First, to recover the livelihood economy, he issued 509 billion won in regional currency, the largest scale nationwide, and provided 30 billion won in special guarantees for small business owners, thereby enhancing regional economic vitality.

Additionally, he strengthened industrial infrastructure to enable 4,600 high-tech companies such as Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motor, Kia Motors, and Hanmi Pharmaceuticals to establish their base in Hwaseong, and secured a foundation for nurturing talent in future industries such as semiconductors through the recruitment of KAIST Science Hub and Hongik University's 4th Industrial Revolution Campus.

In the transportation sector, he explained that citizens' mobility convenience has been greatly improved through the priority opening of the GTX-A Dongtan-Suseo section, the opening of the Seohae Line double-track railway, the opening of east-west roads, and the expansion of metropolitan buses, airport bus routes, and ddalak buses.

For citizen safety, he established a prevention-focused safety management system by operating an industrial safety monitoring program and producing fire risk maps, while accelerating the expansion of insufficient firefighting facilities.

To address the low birth rate issue, he announced that the city is taking proactive measures by investing 426.9 billion won in 75 projects covering marriage, childbirth, and childcare, including the nation's first youth marriage encouragement matching account "Yeonjigongi," the nation's largest scale of 10.1 billion won in childbirth support funds, the operation of the most childcare centers nationwide, and the nation's first standalone child care center scheduled to open in January next year.

In the culture and sports sectors, he expanded citizens' cultural enjoyment opportunities through approximately 900 performances and exhibitions annually, and developed Hwaseong Boat Festival, Jeongjo Filial Culture Festival, and Jeongjo's Royal Procession as representative brands.

He also explained that the city has elevated its status in the sports sector through three consecutive wins at the Gyeonggi Province Sports Festival, the launch of Hwaseong FC, and selection as the main host city for the 2027 National Sports Festival and National Disabled Sports Festival.

As a result of these efforts, Hwaseong City has been established as the nation's leading city with eight consecutive years of top ranking in overall competitiveness among local governments nationwide, first place in regional gross domestic product (GRDP), and first place in the number of companies and number of births, and has achieved the highest rating in the evaluation of promise fulfillment.

Mayor Jung presented "a city where the life citizens desire is completed" as the direction of future city administration and announced plans to promote major projects without delay, including △establishing a general district △accelerating Dongtan Tram △expanding transportation networks △attracting a university general hospital △developing Hwaseong International Theme Park △creating Golden Coast Road and Goryeomsan Marine Park △Seohae Maru Youth Hostel △Asia's largest scale botanical garden and Hwaseong Arts Center △opening Hwaseong Central Library.

In particular, he presented a plan to cultivate a complete future industrial ecosystem through establishing an autonomous driving living lab demonstration city, attracting AI high-tech industry investment, upgrading the semiconductor cluster, and developing eco-friendly industrial complexes, while expanding investment attraction achievements, which currently exceed 20 trillion won, to 25 trillion won to provide citizens with quality jobs.

Additionally, he expressed his commitment to strengthening social safety nets by life cycle through a dedicated organization for basic society, which was launched for the first time nationwide, and to completing "Hwaseong-style basic society" where welfare, housing, labor, education, childcare, and culture are in harmony.

Mayor Jung Myeong-geun emphasized, "Citizens' better lives are both the ultimate goal and starting point of city administration," and stressed, "Together with citizens, I will realize the promise of completing one's life and confidently move forward as a leading city of the future."