Hwaseong City's Namyang-dong Upgraded to Eup Status... Approved by Ministry of Interior and Safety

The long-held wish of 25,000 residents in Namyang-dong, Hwaseong City, to upgrade the area to eup (township) status was realized on the 8th through the approval decision of the Minister of Interior and Safety.

Namyang-dong in Hwaseong City had Namyang-myeon (township) abolished when Hwaseong County was elevated to city status in March 2001, and Namyang-dong was established as the location of the city hall.

Namyang-dong is a region that was directly converted from myeon (township) to dong (ward) rather than through eup status, with an administrative area of 67㎢, which is larger than Bucheon City (53.4㎢), making it an anomalous administrative ward. With a population of 25,000 residents equivalent to the scale of a typical eup in an urban-rural complex city, the upgrade to eup status was urgently needed to smoothly conduct administrative services for residents.

Additionally, 30% of the total area is covered by greenbelt (20.4㎢) as a development-restricted zone, restricting residents' property rights, and students advancing to high schools within the region have been unable to benefit from rural special admissions, leading them to avoid local schools and transfer to schools outside the area, resulting in declining academic achievement at Namyang-dong schools and the depopulation of the region.

Hwaseong City Mayor Chae In-seok stated, "The upgrade from dong to eup status is the first of its kind in the history of administrative division adjustments nationwide, a result created with one heart by residents and the regional congressional representative, and the shoulders of Namyang residents, who have suffered relative discrimination due to educational problems, increased property tax burden, and reduced rural area benefits, will be able to broaden."