Pyeongtaek City Selected for 2026 Gyeonggi Province Public Conflict Management Excellence Award

Pyeongtaek City's case of ‘conflict resolution through the Neighborhood Dispute Resolution Center’ was selected as the 2026 Gyeonggi Province Public Conflict Management Excellence Award winner.

Gyeonggi Province is strengthening conflict response capabilities across institutions by sharing public conflict resolution cases that emerged during policy implementation with 31 municipalities and public agencies. The province received a total of eight cases in July and conducted written reviews from July 29 to August 7 based on case appropriateness, conflict resolution preparation, process, and outcomes.

In particular, since public conflicts are difficult to resolve in the short term, emphasis was placed on the process of resolving conflicts through communication and mediation among stakeholders.

Pyeongtaek City, which received the grand prize, operates the ‘Neighborhood Dispute Resolution Center’ in partnership with Pyeongtaek YMCA, a privately contracted organization, and has received high praise for establishing a resident participation-oriented conflict management system that conducts over 350 counseling sessions and over 150 mediation cases annually. The city sought out dispute sites involving inter-resident conflicts such as noise between floors, parking, and smoking, and led parties toward reconciliation and mediation. It strengthened resident communication through ‘communication rooms’ at the village level and children's consideration culture education using puppet theater.

The grand prize was awarded to Gyeonggi Transportation Corporation's case of ‘unified operation of Gyeonggi Province special transportation vehicles through communication and innovation.’ The corporation improved its operational system by integrating operating standards across 31 municipalities in response to user complaints and inter-agency conflicts stemming from delayed dispatch of disabled-accessible taxis and call center overload.

Gwacheon City received the excellence award for its case of ‘eliminating illegal street vendors through continuous communication and policy development.’ To resolve the over 40-year-old problem of street vendors under the Guldari Market bridge, Gwacheon City met with merchants individually and engaged in continuous discussions, leading them to vacate voluntarily. The city also removed the remaining eight locations without physical conflict, restoring a safe pedestrian environment.

The commendation award was given to Yongin City's case of ‘healthcare clinic operation policy determined through communication.’ Triggered by a petition from 1,295 residents regarding the closure and consolidation of healthcare clinics, Yongin City conducted conflict impact analysis and decided to maintain the current stationary operation system of seven healthcare clinics.

Kim Sang-pal, director of the Local Government Division at Gyeonggi Province, stated, “Public conflict resolution is an important process in which solutions are created through sufficient communication and mediation among stakeholders,” and added, “We will award provincial governor's certificates to the four selected institutions and plan to expand excellent conflict management experiences from the field throughout the province.”