Gyeonggi Province Selects Pyeongtaek City as Excellence Award Winner in Public Conflict Management

Pyeongtaek City's case of 'conflict resolution through the Neighborhood Dispute Mediation Center' has been selected as the 2026 excellence award winner in public conflict management by Gyeonggi Province.

Gyeonggi Province is sharing public conflict resolution cases that arose during policy implementation with 31 municipal governments and public institutions, thereby enhancing each institution's conflict response capacity. The province received a total of 8 cases in July and conducted written reviews from July 29 to August 7 based on case appropriateness and conflict resolution preparation, process, and outcomes.

In particular, since public conflicts are difficult to resolve in the short term, emphasis was placed on the process of resolving conflicts through communication and mediation among stakeholders.

Pyeongtaek City, which received the award, operates the 'Neighborhood Dispute Mediation Center' in partnership with Pyeongtaek YMCA, a privately contracted organization, and conducts over 350 consultations and over 150 mediations annually, earning high praise for establishing a resident-participatory conflict management system. The city has addressed conflicts between residents such as noise between floors, parking, and smoking by visiting conflict sites and facilitating reconciliation and mediation between parties, and has strengthened resident communication through operating 'communication rooms' at the village level and children's consideration culture education using puppet theater.

The grand prize was awarded to Gyeonggi Transportation Corporation's case of 'integrated operation of Gyeonggi Province special transportation vehicles through communication and innovation.' In response to user dissatisfaction and inter-agency conflicts caused by delays in dispatching disabled taxis and call center overload, Gyeonggi Transportation Corporation improved its operational system by integrating operating standards across 31 municipal governments.

The excellence prize was awarded to Gwacheon City's case of 'eliminating illegal street vendors through continuous communication and institutional measures.' To resolve the decades-long street vending problem at Guldari Market, Gwacheon City met with merchants individually, held ongoing consultations, and encouraged voluntary evacuation. The remaining 8 locations were demolished without physical conflict, restoring the pedestrian environment.

The encouragement prize was awarded to Yongin City's case of 'health clinic operation policy decided through communication.' Following a petition from 1,295 residents regarding the closure and consolidation of health clinics, Yongin City conducted a conflict impact analysis and decided to maintain the current on-site operation system for 7 health clinics.

Kim Sang-pal, director of the Autonomous Administration Division of Gyeonggi Province, stated, "The process of creating solutions through sufficient communication and mediation among stakeholders is important in public conflict management," and added, "We plan to present provincial governor certificates to the four selected institutions and expand the excellent conflict management experiences from the field throughout the province."