Governor Kim Says "Integration of Hwaseong and Osan is Desirable"

Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Moon-soo expressed his view that the integration of Hwaseong City and Osan City would be desirable.

Governor Kim met exclusively with News S publisher Lee Ho-jin on the afternoon of the 20th for an interview. During this meeting, Governor Kim said regarding the recent administrative district integration, “Considering many factors, it would be desirable for Hwaseong City and Osan City to integrate, and the integration process would not be difficult.” Related to this, Gyeonggi Province issued a statement on the 10th clarifying its stance that administrative district integration is a matter of grave importance and must proceed through a referendum.

Additionally, Governor Kim expressed strong interest in News S, a ‘locally-rooted daily newspaper.’ Governor Kim stated, “Yongin City, Uiwang City, and Gunpo City can also be viewed as part of the Suwon region,” and proposed that “the circulation area of Suwon Ilbo should not be limited to Suwon, Hwaseong, and Osan, but should expand to include Yongin, Uiwang, and Gunpo.”

Subsequently, Governor Kim and Publisher Lee discussed various topics including policies for socially disadvantaged groups such as the bill supporting families of abductees, which Governor Kim first proposed during his time as a National Assembly member, Gyeonggi Province's taxi-related policies, the Seoul Metropolitan Area Rapid Transit (GTX), and the future of local media.

Meanwhile, the exclusive interview on this day proceeded more than 20 minutes beyond the scheduled time, and Governor Kim introduced News S publisher Lee Ho-jin to Irvine, California Mayor Kang Seok-hui, who visited Gyeonggi Province to receive an honorary resident certificate.