Gapyeong County Strengthens On-Site Communication to Reflect Residents' Voices in County Administration

[Suwon Ilbo = Reporter Eom In-yong] Gapyeong County is strengthening on-site communication to directly hear residents' voices and reflect them in county administration as the new year begins.

To hear residents' authentic voices from the field more substantively, the county is changing the "Township Visit" event, previously held at the beginning of the year, to "Meetings with Township Residents" starting this year. The county will move away from existing ceremonial events and meeting formats, maximizing resident participation to gather diverse opinions from various sectors. In particular, the conversation time with residents will be doubled from the existing 50 minutes to 100 minutes this year to enhance substantive outcomes.

Accordingly, County Magistrate Seo Tae-won plans to continue "Meetings with Township Residents" by visiting 6 townships starting with Gapyeong Township on January 9 through January 14.

At the "2025 Gapyeong Township Residents Meeting" held on January 9 at the Gapyeong Township Administrative Welfare Center, 30 representatives including village chiefs, representatives of civic and social organizations representing the local community presented local inconveniences and pending issues. Through this, a time was spent sharing requests and problems in various sectors such as transportation, welfare, and local commerce, and jointly considering solutions.

Major suggestions from the field on that day focused on issues closely related to residents' daily lives, including △alleviating traffic congestion near Nami Island to resolve inconvenience for local residents' vehicle travel △securing parking space for local residents △improving traffic systems to address pedestrian inconvenience in residential areas △expanding promotional guidance for five-day markets △developing signature local foods and income crops representing Gapyeong △measures to expand the secondary Gyeongchun National Road and major transportation infrastructure.

At this meeting, County Magistrate Seo Tae-won said, "I hope this meeting will be a precious opportunity for Gapyeong County residents and administration to draw closer," and "Since active communication with residents is the driving force behind county administration development, I will continue to hear residents' authentic voices from the field more frequently and reflect them in county administration to build a better Gapyeong together."

Meanwhile, attendees at the Gapyeong Township residents meeting included County Magistrate Seo, Gapyeong County Council members Choi Won-jung and Kang Min-suk, Gyeonggi Provincial Councilor Im Kwang-hyun, and county office bureau chiefs, department heads, and team leaders, who listened to residents' opinions.