Kim Gyung-hee Icheon Mayor prepares for 2025

[Suwon Ilbo = Reporter Eom In-yong] Icheon Mayor Kim Gyung-hee announced on the 29th that she will present and actively promote visions and goals for "regional economic revitalization in 2025."

The visions and goals presented by Mayor Kim include: △revitalizing regional economy through customized support for each business; △expanding on-site focused SME support policies; △enhancing corporate competitiveness through fostering sound labor-management culture and protecting workers' rights; △realizing energy welfare through expanding renewable energy and gas supply.

The following is the detailed content of "2025 Vision and Goals" announced by Mayor Kim.

■Regional Economic Revitalization through Customized Support for Each Business

Through Icheon City's special management fund project, the city will provide a 2% interest rate subsidy to small and medium-sized manufacturers recommended by the city, plus a 1.2% guarantee fee for SME partnership support. The city will contribute SME development funds to Gyeonggi Province to support operating capital and facility funds for local SMEs, and provide loan guarantee support to local SMEs with insufficient collateral.

Through public institution consignments, the city will support 12 projects including design development, overseas exhibitions, export logistics fees, rising-star enterprise cultivation, overseas market exploration, customized growth, and smart factory dissemination.

In addition, through business environment improvement projects, the city will support infrastructure improvement projects such as water and sewerage systems, labor environment improvement projects including dormitory, cafeteria, and restroom renovations, and work environment improvement projects such as floor painting, work tables, loading platforms, and lighting replacement.

In particular, the city will support up to 80% of SME workers' dormitory rental costs, and will early support a total of 19 projects including domestic exhibition participation support and startup incubator center support through customized support by sector.

■Expanding On-Site Focused SME Support Policies

To "identify corporate difficulties through field visits," the city will conduct direct face-to-face visits to at least 10 business sites monthly to identify support policies and difficulties and take immediate action. The city will operate "The Icheon City Mayor Visits Local Businesses," a community window for visiting businesses once a month, to listen to voices from the field.

The city will also manage department-level preferential purchasing performance to expand purchases of SME products. The city will hold SME product sales and exhibition events regularly and actively host enterprise support briefings and consultation sessions to conduct field-focused administration.

■Fostering Sound Labor-Management Culture and Protecting Workers' Rights

To create a safe and pleasant working environment, the city will conduct periodic surveillance and prevention activities at industrial and construction sites where industrial accidents are a concern. The city will operate rest and welfare spaces for mobile workers (delivery agents, express couriers, taxi drivers, etc.) and will early complete renovation of aging facilities at the Icheon Workers' Comprehensive Welfare Center swimming pool to provide more pleasant and safe sports facilities in line with citizens' expectations.

To strengthen workers' rights protection activities, the city will operate "workers' rights advocates" to guide legal compliance such as employment contract conclusion and minimum wage observance among short-term and vulnerable workers, primarily at small-scale business sites such as convenience stores. The city will efficiently operate the Icheon Living Wage System for contract workers belonging to Icheon City and workers at organizations funded and invested by Icheon City.

■Realizing Energy Welfare through Expanding Renewable Energy and Gas Supply

To ensure energy welfare administration with no blind spots, the city will early promote agricultural and rural RE100 demonstration support projects, fusion support projects, energy-independent village creation projects, and urban gas and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) small-scale storage tank supply projects, thereby striving for energy welfare administration through expanding renewable energy supply.

Mayor Kim Gyung-hee said, "2025 is just around the corner. Only those who prepare in advance can overcome difficulties. If we empathize with the small stories of businesses and listen carefully, we can overcome any challenge no matter how difficult." She added, "Through revitalizing the regional economy by strengthening corporate competitiveness, we will breathe new life into the stagnant local economy, and by providing swift support for projects needed by businesses, we will create an environment conducive to business and build Icheon where both businesses and citizens are happy."