Pyeongtaek and Andong in North Gyeongsang Province Sign Sister City Agreement

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Park Chan-hyuk] Pyeongtaek City and Andong City in North Gyeongsang Province signed a sister city agreement on the 27th and pledged to expand exchanges in diverse sectors including administration, economy, culture, tourism, and agriculture based on mutual trust and cooperation.

The agreement ceremony held at Andong City Hall was attended by Pyeongtaek Mayor Jung Jang-seon, Pyeongtaek City Council Operations Committee Chairman Lee Jong-won, Planning and Administration Committee Chairman Kim Young-ju, Andong Mayor Kwon Ki-chang, Andong City Council Chairman Kim Gyeong-do, and representatives from both cities' government officials and private organizations, reaffirming their mutual commitment to substantive exchange and cooperation.

The two cities have built mutual trust by maintaining cooperation even in disaster situations beyond administrative exchanges. Last March, Pyeongtaek City urgently provided 100 backpack pumps to support recovery efforts from the large-scale forest fire in Andong, and in May of the same year, companies and civic organizations based in Pyeongtaek donated 20 million won in scholarship funds for youth affected by the Andong forest fire, continuing substantive solidarity.

With this sister city agreement as an opportunity, the two cities plan to strengthen mutual cooperation in diverse sectors including △administrative and policy exchanges △expansion of sales channels for local agricultural and specialty products △operation of culture and tourism resource linkage programs.

Meanwhile, the two cities plan to actively discover specialized cooperation projects utilizing regional strengths and establish a co-growth model between local governments through expanded exchange programs that citizens can experience.

Pyeongtaek Mayor Jung Jang-seon stated, "Andong City is the capital of Korean spiritual culture with abundant traditional and cultural assets. I hope to combine the strengths of Andong City with Pyeongtaek City, which is an advanced industrial and international logistics hub, to create tangible exchange outcomes that citizens of both cities can feel."

In response, Andong Mayor Kwon Ki-chang said, "Pyeongtaek City is a growing center city leading South Korea's future industries. With this sister city agreement as an opportunity, we will establish a sustainable cooperation system across administration, industry, and culture to lay the foundation for shared development."