Suwon-Gyeonggi Province "Non-Partisan Cooperation"

Suwon Mayor Yeom Tae-young and Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Moon-soo have drawn attention for their decision to cooperate mutually in resolving pending issues for regional development in the Suwon area.

Prior to taking office, Suwon Mayor Yeom Tae-young met with Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Moon-soo on the 29th of last month and requested the province's active support for addressing pending issues in the Suwon region that require Gyeonggi Province's cooperation.

Mayor Yeom requested the province's full support for lifting the emergency runway status of Suwon Airbase and promoting airbase relocation, as well as for attracting Samsung LED sector investment to the Suwon region following the National Assembly's rejection of the revised Sejong City plan, which are the region's most pressing issues.

In response, Governor Kim expressed sympathy with Mayor Yeom's suggestions, stating, "While there has been some progress on lifting the emergency runway status, the ultimate goal of airbase relocation faces many technical difficulties. It would be desirable to obtain more objective and persuasive professional materials related to arguments for airbase relocation."

He also stated, "Regarding the province's efforts to develop the Samsung Research Complex in Suwon, we are promoting the cultivation of prestigious middle and high schools to enable researchers residing in Seoul to relocate to Suwon. We will actively cooperate in attracting investment so that investment can be facilitated centered on Samsung production facilities located in the Suwon and Hwaseong areas," pledging his support.

Additionally, Governor Kim expressed his intention to provide priority support by reflecting the remaining 10 billion won in provincial budget support for the early completion of Samsung-ro expansion construction into the initial 2011 budget. Regarding the request for provincial budget support for the Hwaseong restoration project, it was reported that the province decided to review support methods for specific facilities.

In particular, Mayor Yeom expressed the view that "improvements in personnel exchange between the province and city are necessary to resolve promotion backlogs among municipal officials and boost employee morale." In response, Governor Kim stated, "Personnel matters will fundamentally respect the city's opinions to the maximum extent."

Through this meeting, Mayor Yeom and Governor Kim agreed to actively cooperate with each other for regional development, transcending their respective political parties, thereby clearly dispelling some concerns that had arisen during the election period about discord due to their different political affiliations.