Suwon Ranks Second in Municipal Competitiveness

Suwon has secured second place overall in the municipal category with 527 points in the "2008 13th Korea Local Autonomy Competitiveness Index (KLCL)," trailing Gwacheon with 550 points.

The 2008 KLCL results announced on the 28th by the Korean Public Governance Research Institute (President Jung Se-wook) surveyed 230 local governments nationwide (excluding Jeju Province) across four areas—overall evaluation, management foundation, management activities, and management performance—to assess the competitiveness trajectory of local governments.

This year's KLCL results highlighted the strength of the capital region and the advancement of Chungcheong region cities. Within the capital region, where intense competition was observed among cities, Gwacheon's advantages as a planned city were noted, while Suwon emerged as a favorable location for corporate infrastructure.

The city expects this data to serve as foundational material for companies' investment and location planning, information and survey data for schools and research organizations, and basic information allowing ordinary citizens to assess their city's quality of life.

Suwon, which secured second place in the basic municipalities category, received balanced scores across four areas: management foundation, management activities, management performance, and overall evaluation. In particular, it received high marks in management activities, including the development of foundational infrastructure.

Hong Sung-gwan, head of the Planning and Budget Division, stated, "Suwon ranked third in the basic municipalities category in 2006, fell to tenth place last year, and now ranks second, up eight positions this year—indicating that the city's competitiveness has improved in a single year."

Meanwhile, Dalsŏng County took first place in the basic counties category, and Jongno-gu ranked first in the autonomous districts category.