Icheon Mayor Kim Kyung-hee: "Quality of Life in Rural Areas Ranks 1st Nationally for Consecutive 2 Years"

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Um In-yong] Icheon Mayor Kim Kyung-hee held a press briefing on the 3rd anniversary of the launch of her 8th term and explained the city's achievements over the past three years, announcing that Icheon has grown into a livable city by ranking in the upper echelons of various evaluations.

At a press briefing held on the 8th at the Icheon City Hall conference room attended by journalists and city government division and section heads, Mayor Kim said, "Since taking office, there have been many difficulties including a collapse in rice prices, discontinuation of ordinary transfer payments, and discovery of mosquito larvae in tap water, but our citizens have been with us and supported us every step of the way, allowing us to find new breakthroughs and resolve many issues," explaining the achievements of the 8th term over three years.

She further emphasized, "Following the 8th place ranking in the sustainable city evaluation announced by the Korea Institute of Local Finance, the Presidential Committee on Agriculture, Fishery and Rural Affairs announced that Icheon was selected as the 1st place nationally for consecutive 2 years in the quality of life evaluation for rural areas, and last month received the 'highest grade' in the 2025 nationwide local government leaders' pledge implementation evaluation."

Mayor Kim also stated, "Despite regulations on natural conservation zones, Icheon has maintained the top employment rate in Gyeonggi Province for several years, with per capita Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) recording approximately 2.7 times the average of rural-urban composite cities and fiscal self-reliance 2.1 times higher," emphasizing, "In the remaining one year, we will not settle for the status quo and will do our utmost every day to create a city where citizens' lives are comfortable and happy, and a clean and safe city."

Furthermore, "Icheon, which established an Advanced Future City Promotion Division following the launch of the 8th term and is making efforts to develop cutting-edge industries centered on semiconductors, including artificial intelligence (AI), drones, and defense, has newly established a Semiconductor Solution Center and Semiconductor Talent Development Center, and a semiconductor contract course at Icheon Jeil High School to cultivate field-oriented specialized personnel. In particular, by providing subsidies of up to 3 billion won to companies with investments exceeding 20 billion won, we are redirecting the footsteps of departing companies and staking everything on attracting new businesses."

Mayor Kim also stated, "We are making efforts to expand defense industry infrastructure such as drones together with local military units," and emphasized, "Going forward, we will activate the operation of an investment attraction task force (TF) for company recruitment and provide customized corporate services to create Icheon as a city overflowing with jobs."

Mayor Kim also said, "The on-demand 'Talk Bus' introduced early last year surpassed a cumulative 610,000 users, greatly enhancing public transportation convenience, and the rapidly constructed intelligent transportation system reads traffic flow, reduces travel time, and creates a safe transportation system. In the 2030s, Icheon will witness a historic moment when the north-south railway stretching from Seo to Geoje meets the east-west railway connecting Pyeongtaek to Gangneung in Icheon," and declared, "We will do our utmost to establish Icheon as a hub of railway transportation."

Regarding policies tailored to people's economic lives, she emphasized, "We will promote at a faster pace core projects for customized welfare policies enjoyed by all generations, balanced development where rural and urban areas grow together, and expansion of cutting-edge industry infrastructure and substantial improvement of transportation infrastructure, as well as a leap toward a culture and education city."

Meanwhile, Mayor Kim successively announced achievements including ▲construction of a cutting-edge industrial city overflowing with jobs ▲a welfare city where everyone is happy, including 24-hour childcare centers ▲an education city realizing non-discriminatory learning represented by the recruitment of a science high school ▲a city full of opportunities for youth ▲creation of a clean and safe urban environment including Seolbong Park Forest Plaza, improvements to Bunsuwae Intersection, and riverside park camping and water play areas ▲creation of an attractive cultural and tourism city represented by new cultural content including the Haewol Animation Festival and Icheon Pet Festival.