Northern Gyeonggi Local Governments Compete Fiercely to Attract Affiliated Organizations

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] As Gyeonggi Province plans to newly establish or relocate five affiliated institutions, including Gyeonggi Transportation Corporation, to administrative infrastructure vulnerable areas for regional balanced development, the competition among regions to attract these institutions is heating up.

Gyeonggi Province recently announced that it has decided to relocate (or newly establish) five affiliated institutions?three currently concentrated in the southern region and two planned new establishments?to the northern part of Gyeonggi Province for regional balanced development.

The targeted affiliated institutions are ▲ Gyeonggi Transportation Corporation and Gyeonggi Environmental Energy Promotion Agency, both scheduled to be established this year ▲ Gyeonggi Job Foundation (Bucheon) ▲ Gyeonggi Market and Commercial Promotion Agency (Suwon) ▲ Gyeonggi Social Service Agency (Suwon).

The Gyeonggi Transportation Corporation will serve as Gyeonggi Province’s transportation control tower and will be established within this year. The capital is 18.5 billion KRW, fully funded by Gyeonggi Province. The establishment form is a 'local corporation' similar to transportation corporations in other metropolitan cities/provinces such as Seoul, Incheon, and Busan. The organization will operate with one headquarters and five departments: Management Support Department, Bus Operation Center, Semi-Public Operation Department, Transportation Facilities Department, and Railway Operation Department. The workforce will include 88 personnel, including bus drivers.

The Gyeonggi Environmental Energy Promotion Agency also aims to be established within this year. It will be launched by integrating six existing environment-related institutions in the province: ▲ Gyeonggi Energy Center ▲ Gyeonggi Environmental Technology Support Center ▲ Water Industry Support Center ▲ Environmental Education Center ▲ Climate Change Education Center ▲ Upcycle Plaza. In the future, it will serve as a policy execution body covering all areas of Gyeonggi Province’s environmental policies, including fine dust response, climate change, waste, and living environment safety.

The Gyeonggi Job Foundation was established in Bucheon in 2016 to function as Gyeonggi Province’s job hub. It currently carries out various job projects, including education and training, job matching services, employment support platforms, and job research.

The Gyeonggi Market and Commercial Promotion Agency opened its doors last September inside the Suwon Convention Center to support small business owners and traditional markets. Currently, about 50 employees conduct surveys and research to support small business owners and traditional markets.

The Gyeonggi Social Service Agency was established in January this year with the goal of strengthening the public nature of social services and improving workers’ treatment. Before its establishment, the Social Service Agency operated as a pilot project team within the Gyeonggi Welfare Foundation, performing roles such as ▲ entrusted operation of national and public social welfare facilities ▲ installation and operation of comprehensive home care centers ▲ support projects for private facilities.

The province plans to relocate these five affiliated institutions to cities and counties in the northern Gyeonggi region and will hold a public contest next month.

Following the province’s decision to hold the contest, major cities and counties in northern Gyeonggi have begun full-scale activities, including forming task forces (TFs) to attract affiliated institutions. Currently, cities and counties actively pursuing the attraction of these institutions include Uijeongbu, Yangju, Paju, and Dongducheon.

Uijeongbu City is focusing on attracting three institutions: Gyeonggi Transportation Corporation, Gyeonggi Job Foundation, and Gyeonggi Market and Commercial Promotion Agency. Uijeongbu emphasizes its symbolic significance as the location of the northern Gyeonggi provincial office and argues that major institutions should be located around the northern provincial office.

Yangju City is also putting all efforts into attracting three institutions: Gyeonggi Transportation Corporation, Gyeonggi Job Foundation, and Gyeonggi Environmental Energy Promotion Agency, forecasting fierce competition with Uijeongbu City. Yangju has already formed a TF and started a feasibility study for the attraction.

Paju City is operating the 'Gyeonggi Province Affiliated Institution Attraction Promotion TF' and highlights its position as a key logistics and transportation city connecting the North and South in the era of Korean Peninsula unification. Paju is focusing on attracting the Gyeonggi Transportation Corporation.

Dongducheon City hopes to attract the Gyeonggi Job Foundation and Gyeonggi Market and Commercial Promotion Agency and has formed a TF led by the deputy mayor.

A Dongducheon City official said, "Right after Gyeonggi Province announced the plan to relocate affiliated institutions to the northern region, we immediately formed a TF led by the deputy mayor. Since having affiliated public institutions in the region greatly impacts economic inducement and job creation, we plan to actively participate in the attraction competition."

Meanwhile, Gyeonggi Province expects that more cities and counties within the province will join the competition to attract affiliated institutions once the public contest officially begins.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.