Special Report Suwon City Has Changed 1 - 'Saebit Series' Enhancing Citizens' Quality of Life

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Jung Jun-sung] Among the major policies pursued by Suwon Metropolitan City under the 8th term of civilian government are Suwon Saebit Care, Saebit Civil Affairs Office, Saebit Talk Talk, Suwon Saebit Living Expense Package, Suwon Enterprise Saebit Fund, Saebit House, and Saebit Suwon Palm Garden. All of these contain the word 'Saebit'.

The 'Saebit Series,' a policy brand for the 8th term of civilian government created by abbreviating 'new' (sae) and 'shining' (bit) from the 8th term vision 'Make Suwon New, Make Citizens Shine,' consists of life-innovation policies that provide tangible benefits to citizens' lives.

The 'Saebit Series' can be broadly categorized into three types: 'Policies to reduce citizens' living expenses,' 'Policies to improve citizens' living environment,' and 'Policies leading local government innovation.' Let us examine the 'Saebit Series.'

Suwon Saebit Living Expense Package Reduces Citizens' Living Costs

The policy to reduce citizens' living expenses is the 'Suwon Saebit Living Expense Package' launched last January. The Saebit Living Expense Package consists of expanded childbirth support grants, universal support for feminine hygiene products for female youth, youth housing packages, herpes zoster vaccination support, and free transportation for seniors, young professionals, and persons with disabilities (transportation cost support projects).

The Suwon Saebit Living Expense Package was structured as a project that citizens can tangibly feel. It is a policy that allows all segments of society, from childbirth families to youth, young adults, and seniors, to benefit equally.

A new childbirth support grant of 500,000 won was established for the first child, and the second child was increased to 1 million won (existing 500,000 won). For the third child, 2 million won is provided; for the fourth child, 5 million won; and for the fifth child, 10 million won.

Female youth aged 11-18 with registered residence, place of stay, or legal residence in the city receive the cost of purchasing feminine hygiene products in Gyeonggi regional currency.

Citizens aged 65 and older are supported for herpes zoster vaccination. In 2026, vaccination will be supported for those born in even-numbered years, and in 2027, for those born in odd-numbered years. Transportation costs are provided to seniors aged 70 and older, young professionals aged 19-23, and persons with disabilities registered in Suwon.

Suwon Saebit Care and Saebit House Improve Living Environment

Policies that improve citizens' living environment include Suwon Saebit Care (For All), Saebit House, and Saebit Suwon Palm Garden.

The city provides customized integrated care services to all citizens who need care through Suwon Saebit Care (For All), a community-based care service. It is a carefully designed care policy to ensure that citizens who need help but were previously outside the scope of the care service system can also receive care.

Suwon Saebit Care (For All) relaxed income standards and age restrictions starting in 2025 so that anyone could use care services, receiving positive responses from citizens.

In 2025, approximately 5,200 citizens used approximately 120,600 instances of care services. Applications for Saebit care services increased by 142% compared to 2024, while service usage surged by 353%.

Suwon Saebit Care (For All) includes eight basic core services ranging from daily living support to health and emotional care, 'resident-suggested services' reflecting citizen demand, and 'citizen-participation services.'

During 2025, the resident-suggested project 'elementary school lower-grade school commute accompaniment care service' provided 478 instances of service to 19 people, and the citizen-participation project 'pregnant woman care community formation and housekeeping support service' provided services to 170 pregnant women.

Saebit House, a Suwon-Style Welfare Policy Realizing Right to Housing

Saebit House, which improves the residential environment of aged low-rise housing, is not merely a home repair but a Suwon-style welfare policy that realizes the fundamental right to housing.

To date, the city has supported repairs for 2,099 aged homes: 305 homes in 2023, 791 homes in 2024, and 1,003 homes in 2025. In January and February of this year, the city recruited households to participate in the 2026 Saebit House project, and 3,049 homes applied.

The city is currently evaluating the applicant homes and plans to finalize the target homes for support on April 24. Once the target households for this year are selected, the goal of 'achieving support for 3,000 homes by 2026' will likely be achieved without difficulty.

The Saebit House policy is receiving positive evaluations from citizens. The Suwon City Institute for Research analyzed the effects of the Saebit House project, finding that average monthly electricity usage decreased by 13% after home environment improvement, and 89% of households that underwent energy efficiency work answered that they 'became safe from extreme heat, heavy rain, and cold spells.'

The Saebit Suwon Palm Garden project involves citizens taking the lead to create 'open gardens' throughout the city. In vacant urban spaces such as village open lots, school flower beds, and leftover land, citizen communities plant flowers and trees to create gardens. From 2023 over three years, citizen communities have created 1,001 palm gardens throughout the city, making Suwon more beautiful.

Saebit Civil Affairs Office, Saebit Talk Talk... Leading Local Government Innovation

The 'policies leading local government innovation' include Saebit Civil Affairs Office, Saebit Talk Talk, and Suwon Enterprise Saebit Fund.

The Saebit Civil Affairs Office, which opened in April 2023, has become a model for innovation in civil affairs services. Veteran public officials smoothly resolved complex civil complaints that appeared difficult to handle, and citizen praise followed.

As the veteran team leader of the Saebit Civil Affairs Office was introduced in the media, local governments, institutions, and government officials have been visiting Suwon City to benchmark the model.

Saebit Talk Talk, a citizen-participation platform that started service in July 2023 and surpassed 200,000 members in March, has established itself as an exemplar of a 'successful public platform' and has become the driving force of 'Suwon City created by citizens.'

Citizens can easily propose policies through Saebit Talk Talk and discuss with other citizens through comments. Good proposals are converted into policies through discussion. Surveys for gathering citizen opinions are also conducted. Citizen proposals have exceeded 4,000, and the administrative science departments at Ajou University and Kyonggi University have even opened classes utilizing Saebit Talk Talk.

The 'Suwon Enterprise Saebit Fund,' launched in 2023, is a fund that invests in small, venture, and startup companies that have technical capabilities but lack financial resources so they can grow.

The first Suwon Enterprise Saebit Fund was formed with a scale of 314.9 billion won and invested 31.5 billion won in 19 Suwon companies. The mandatory investment commitment for Suwon companies was 26.5 billion won, and the fund invested 120% of the commitment amount.

Building on the success of the first Saebit Fund, the second Suwon Enterprise Saebit Fund was formed. The second fund has a formation amount of 445.5 billion won or more, with a mandatory investment commitment for Suwon companies of 26.5 billion won. Combined, the first and second funds reach a total formation amount of 760 billion won. It is providing significant support to companies facing difficulties in attracting investment.

A city official stated, "We will continue to discover life-innovation policies that provide tangible benefits to citizens' lives, like the Saebit Series," and added, "We will pursue policies that citizens can feel and that enhance the quality of citizens' lives."