Incheon City and Ganghwa County Focus on Infrastructure Expansion for Seonwon-myeon with 10,000 Population

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Choi Ki-ho] Ganghwa County held an integrated meeting under the "Into the Village, Among the Citizens" program on the 20th at the Seonwon-myeon Community Sports Center with Incheon Mayor Yu Jeong-bok, discussing local issues such as infrastructure expansion in response to increased population inflow to Seonwon-myeon with residents.

The "Into the Village, Among the Citizens" program is a field-oriented communication initiative designed to reflect voices from the daily community into city administration and to seek practical solutions through cooperation between the city and county.

The meeting was attended by representatives of local organizations in Seonwon-myeon, including village chiefs, resident autonomy committees, the Saemaul Movement, senior citizens associations, and residents, who discussed village issues.

Since the large-scale apartment complex moved-in became full-scale in 2024, the population of Seonwon-myeon has continuously increased, surpassing 10,000 for the first time in December of last year. Accordingly, the necessity for regional development and infrastructure expansion to accommodate population inflow has grown, and two related agenda items were discussed with emphasis at the meeting.

The first agenda was early construction of Metropolitan Route 60 (expressway endpoint~Local Route 84). As traffic is expected to increase significantly upon completion of the Gyeyang-Ganghwa Expressway, which is set to begin construction this year, concerns were raised that smooth traffic handling would be difficult with the current two-lane road.

The second agenda was the conversion of private sewage from apartment complexes to public sewage facilities. Currently, the public sewage service coverage rate in Ganghwa County is 39.2%, the lowest in the nation, and particularly in Seonwon-myeon, sewage generation is expected to surge due to consecutive large-scale apartment complex developments, increasing the necessity for expanding public sewage treatment facilities.

In response, Incheon Mayor Yu Jeong-bok and Ganghwa County Governor Park Yong-cheol announced they will actively review implementation plans through cooperation between the city and county.

During the subsequent public grievance session, opinions were raised regarding △repair work on Metropolitan Route 64 coastal loop road △construction support for Metropolitan Route 78 bypass (County Route 6) △promotion of repair work on floodgates of local rivers (Samdongam Stream) △increase in Incheon city buses routes 800·801 and others.

Incheon Mayor Yu Jeong-bok stated, "Since Seonwon-myeon is the area experiencing the most significant changes in Ganghwa County, I will actively review the village issues raised," and added, "I will continue to frequently visit Ganghwa County to directly address citizen grievances and do my best for regional development."

County Governor Park Yong-cheol said, "Sustainable population growth is difficult to expect without infrastructure improvements in response to population inflow," and stated, "I will closely cooperate with Incheon City to examine the village agendas and grievances proposed by each resident from various angles."

He continued, "Creating an environment where young people can settle stably is paramount for population increase to translate into regional vitality," and added, "To expand youth employment opportunities, I will strengthen support for startup and business attraction in region-specific fields such as tourism, food and agriculture, and smart farming, and enhance youth-tailored vocational education and job placement programs."