Chae In-seok Hwaseong Mayor Completes 522km National Land Grand March

Chae In-seok, Mayor of Hwaseong City, completed a 522km National Land Grand March over 21 days from August 24 to September 13, beginning with a launch ceremony in Haenam, Jeollanam-do Province.

Mayor Chae conducted the National Land Grand March to address three key issues for Hwaseong City: 'securing national government support for Maehyang-ri Peace Ecology Park', 'attracting the National Natural History Museum to Hwaseong', and 'calling for the withdrawal of Hwaseong Lake freshwater conversion and the resumption of seawater circulation'. During the march, he simultaneously conducted a nationwide signature campaign of support.

Mayor Chae collected approximately 200,000 signatures in total. On September 12, he submitted the supporting signatures to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, and on September 13 following the completion of the National Land Grand March, he delivered them to the Prime Minister's Office and the National Assembly.

On September 13, after completing the National Land Grand March, Mayor Chae held a press conference at the National Assembly where he explained his desire for local government realities to be conveyed to the central government and his reasons for undertaking the march, including explaining the issues that Hwaseong City demands from the central government.

He emphasized the need to form a mature communication relationship between the central government and local governments, rather than one-sided directives and implementation.

Mayor Chae stated, "Through discussions with many local government heads during the National Land Grand March, while the issues facing each local government vary, I empathized with the limitations in city administration that they feel as heads of local governments."

He continued, "More than 17 years have passed since we began local autonomy through the election of local government heads, yet the one-sided policy decision and budget execution systems remain completely unchanged. Regarding this, all local government heads wish for improvement with one voice."