Gyeonggi Province and 31 Cities·Counties Agree on 6 Cooperation Measures at 'Win-Win Cooperation Forum'

Gyeonggi Province and 31 cities and counties within the province have decided to unite their efforts for win-win cooperation, moving away from a political climate marked by confrontation and conflict.

On the 9th, Gyeonggi Province held the second 'Province-Cities and Counties Win-Win Cooperation Forum' at the Asia Publishing Culture Information Center in Paju, following the first held in April. Participants agreed to make joint efforts on four current issues: job creation, personnel exchange, financial cooperation, and response to infectious diseases.

The forum was attended by approximately 80 people, including Governor Nam Kyung-pil, Provincial Assembly Speaker Kang Deuk-gu, representatives of the Saenuri Party and the New Politics Alliance for Democracy in the Provincial Assembly, and 31 mayors and county commissioners.

Governor Nam stated, "Through the first cooperation forum in April, we were able to share the recognition that 'Gyeonggi Province is one,' and based on this, we successfully overcame MERS," adding "Rather than blaming frustrating central politics, let us put our heads together as the province, 31 cities and counties, and the Provincial Assembly to fulfill the role of Korea's eldest son."

Explaining major provincial government projects, he said, "Provincial governance is an open platform based on freedom and consideration, and we will operate provincial affairs based on this," urging "Active assistance from the Provincial Assembly and cities and counties is necessary for open and creative administration."

The forum was divided into four sections: a meeting place, a win-win cooperation arena, an organization session, and a communication forum, proceeding throughout the day starting at 10:30 a.m. in a serious atmosphere.

Participants were divided into five groups and discussed win-win cooperation measures on five topics from 2:30 p.m. for two hours: sustaining provincial governance, job creation, utilization of U.S. military base areas, promotion of Gyeonggi-style rental housing, and operation of infectious disease isolation and treatment facilities.

Following the forum, field-specific discussion results were presented, allowing participants to share the contents.

As a result of the meeting that day, agreements were reached on four measures, including youth job creation.

First, the province and cities and counties decided to jointly address regional employment issues such as youth unemployment and to work together on discovering youth job creation projects and supporting employment promotion. In this regard, policies including vocational skills training for youth, employment support, and startup support for technology and cultural industry youth will be jointly implemented.

Regarding personnel exchange at grade 5 and above—a source of ongoing conflict between the province and cities and counties—an agreement was signed stipulating that 41 provincial resources of grade 5 and above transferred to cities and counties would be continuously recalled, and that maximum effort would be made to select city and county resources when selecting long-term training participants.

Additionally, the province and cities and counties signed a 'Province-Cities and Counties Financial Cooperation Agreement,' the main content of which includes maintaining the 30% provincial fund subsidy rate standard and normalizing differential subsidy rates, as well as prior consultation when selecting new and sunset projects by the province.

In conjunction with this, a joint declaration for cooperation during infectious disease outbreaks was also adopted, calling for the establishment of close cooperation systems to prevent the spread when infectious diseases such as MERS occur.

Participants also decided to request the government and National Assembly to revise the 'Special Act on Support for Areas Surrounding U.S. Military Base Areas.'

The petition included demands to revise the 'U.S. Military Base Areas Act' by expanding the scope of national fund support for land acquisition costs within returned bases and construction costs, and requiring the nation to remediate environmental pollution in areas surrounding military base areas.

The forum also achieved results in resolving conflicts between cities and counties.

The province and three cities—Pyeongtaek, Anseong, and Yongin—signed an agreement to jointly conduct research on 'water quality improvement of the Jinwi, Anseong Stream, and Pyeongtaek Lake basin and win-win cooperation plans between upstream and downstream areas,' and to implement the research results.