Heo Seok, Mayor of Suncheon, Announces This Year's Administrative Policy Direction

Presenting the Economy, Livelihood, and Future Blueprint in the New Normal Era

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Hyung-kwon] Heo Seok, Mayor of Suncheon, stated in a New Year press briefing, “This year marks the final year of the 7th elected administration and a year to prepare for the New Normal era. We will focus our administrative capabilities on economic and livelihood recovery and future response.”

He described the current period as the post-COVID-19 New Normal era, where a new daily life unfolds after overcoming COVID-19, expressing his determination to create a new era and new standards in the Suncheon style together with the 290,000 citizens of Suncheon who have overcome the crisis through the values of sharing and community.

Reflecting on last year’s achievements such as Suncheon’s rise to the third largest city in Honam by population, selection as an East Asian Cultural City, the upcoming registration of Suncheon Bay Wetland as a UNESCO World Natural Heritage site, and securing a record-high national budget of 555.3 billion KRW, he presented the administrative direction for this year as the first year of post-COVID-19 preparation, with a particular focus on regional economic recovery through the realization of the 3E policy and preparations for the 2023 Suncheon Bay International Garden Expo.

▶ ‘Economic Administration’ that makes citizens happy through real economy recovery

Suncheon City has set regional economic recovery as the core policy of this year’s administration and plans to concentrate administrative power on restoring the real economy and livelihoods for the most affected lower-income groups through the implementation of sector-specific tasks in 3E, ecological economy, welfare, jobs, rural areas, and cultural tourism.

First, as representative projects of the 3E project, which is the core axis of the regional economy, the city will accelerate preparations for the successful hosting of the 2023 Suncheon Bay International Garden Expo, which will serve as a stepping stone for the ecological economy, along with the implementation of three major oasis projects: the Fermented Food Industry Support Center, the Global Magnesium Commercialization Support Center, and the Zhongguancun Korea Startup Innovation Center.

Suncheon plans to create a welfare-type growth model where welfare becomes a driving force for revitalizing the real economy by linking welfare policies with the issuance of local currency. About 100 billion KRW of the welfare budget, which accounts for approximately 30% of the city’s finances, will be used for issuing Suncheon Love Gift Certificates.

Efforts will also be made to establish a Suncheon-style startup ecosystem centered on the Startup Yeondang and Startup Incubation Center, create a startup fund for sustainability after startup, and build the foundation for a startup city including the Suncheon Startup Promotion Agency.

Through online sales support systems such as the One-Stop Support Center for Small Business Owners and the Social Economy Support Center, new vitality will be injected into small business owners, neighborhood markets, and traditional markets, which are the capillaries of the economy. Infrastructure will be established to create 15,000 Suncheon-style jobs in areas such as Yeonhyangdeul and the Urban High-tech Industrial Complex.

In the agricultural sector, based on a budget secured of 153.8 billion KRW, an increase of 21 billion KRW from last year, the strategy is to advance projects for “profitable agriculture” such as preempting new industries like the insect industry and natural bio-industry, smart farms, completion of the Suncheon Plum Rural Convergence Business District, establishment of an e-commerce platform for agricultural and specialty products, IoT-based support projects for agriculture and livestock, construction of an innovative farmer center, and the Fishing Village New Deal 300 project.

The cultural, tourism, education, and sports sectors, which act as lubricants for revitalizing the regional economy, will lay the foundation for the cultural industry by commercializing various cultural projects including the East Asian Cultural City and Suncheon’s cultural assets. Plans include unveiling a Suncheon-style New Normal tourism map suited to the untact era with marine ecological tourism, UNESCO heritage tours, and wellness tourism destinations.

Additionally, the city plans to become a Sponomics (Sports Economics) hub city by attracting e-sports permanent stadiums and various sports competitions, fostering a mecca for winter and summer training camps, and accelerating education economy projects such as the 4th Industrial Revolution Expo and Lifelong Learning Expo centered on Suncheon Bay Job World.

▶ ‘Livelihood Administration’ prioritizing citizens’ health and safe living

Suncheon, which has always prioritized citizens’ health and safety in the COVID-19 era, plans to reorganize its administrative and healthcare system to strengthen infectious disease response capabilities by establishing a dedicated infectious disease department within the public health center, building a smart respiratory dedicated screening clinic, constructing an infectious disease response center in the eastern region of Jeonnam, and attracting a cardiovascular disease center starting this year.

Alongside this, the city expressed its ambition to become a more livable city at an international level by aiming for re-designation as a government-certified Women-Friendly City this year, UNICEF certification, re-designation as a Child-Friendly City next year, and challenging new designation as an age-friendly city certified by WHO.

In line with the post-COVID-19 era, the city will strengthen non-face-to-face welfare services using care robots and AI, and will actively implement major projects to create a city without marginalized groups, including construction of national and public day and night dementia care facilities, supply of half-price rental apartments, expansion of comprehensive welfare centers for the disabled, and establishment of family centers.

Regarding the hot issue of real estate policy, the city announced plans to support the dream of homeownership for ordinary citizens and stabilize the housing market by implementing a “priority supply system for local residents” for apartment sales starting in February, targeting citizens who have resided in Suncheon for more than three months.

For creating residential conditions for safe and healthy living, the city will promote public-private cooperative practical projects to ensure that safety indices in seven areas?life safety, crime, traffic accidents, natural disasters, etc.?reach OECD-level Grade 1 by region, and will respond quickly and accurately to disaster situations through the establishment of a smart city integrated platform.

As the first city in Jeonnam to receive ISO22000 (Food Safety Management System) certification in the tap water sector, Suncheon will also focus on supplying safe and clean tap water by building a state-of-the-art intelligent water management system.

To respond to the climate change crisis and realize a carbon-neutral city by 2050, the city will establish the “Ten Million Trees Planting Movement” as a civic movement alongside the creation of citizen gardens for the Garden Expo, and focus on creating fine dust blocking forests, reducing greenhouse gases at workplaces, expanding urban green spaces, and introducing eco-friendly transportation.

Solutions for household waste and parking problems, which account for more than 70% of complaints in towns, townships, and neighborhoods, will be elevated to new citizen movements through innovative discussions rather than unilateral government-led administration.

As a city that advocates itself as a democratic garden cultivated by citizens’ voices, Suncheon will continue to expand direct democracy by listening directly to voices from the field and reflecting them in policies.

The city plans to actively implement various policies to strengthen citizen sovereignty, including the establishment of a dedicated department for citizen sovereignty, the first ecological city ordinance in the nation, and full implementation of resident autonomy councils in 24 towns, townships, and neighborhoods. It also aims to lead the realization of spatial democracy through the operation of democracy schools, incorporation of volunteer centers, and establishment of citizen public interest activity support centers.

▶ Presenting a ‘Future Blueprint’ through Suncheon-style mega project development

Suncheon is preparing mega projects to grow further after the 2023 Suncheon Bay International Garden Expo, aiming to become a self-sufficient city of 300,000 people and preparing for a new future.

This year will be the first year of administrative paradigm shift triggered by COVID-19, with plans to achieve digital administrative innovation through expanding online non-face-to-face service infrastructure, providing AI administrative services, and developing civil service administration apps that combine IT and administration.

The new city hall, which will be Suncheon’s landmark for the next 100 years, is scheduled for completion in 2025, with design to be completed by the end of this year and construction to begin next year.

Utilizing Bonghwasan, known as the lungs of downtown Suncheon, the city plans to establish a new park and green space system by connecting major urban parks and green spaces as a core axis. The Suncheon-style Central Park, composed of a forest art museum, healing walking trails, and therapeutic gardens, will be created as a representative healing space in Korea. Additionally, a sunset-themed marine resort will be attracted to Haeryong Waon to develop it into a nationwide representative sunset spot and a hub for marine healing tourism.

Furthermore, in connection with the government’s Digital New Deal cultural content industry, the city will strive to create a digital-based cultural ecosystem for the post-COVID-19 era through the establishment of the tentative “Suncheon Digital Park,” which will incorporate various elements such as non-face-to-face online concert halls, digital outdoor galleries, video conference rooms, education, culture, games, IT, VR, and AR.

Suncheon will continue to respond swiftly to the changing times and environment through the wisdom and solidarity learned from overcoming the COVID-19 crisis, carefully caring for citizens’ daily lives with the goal of economic recovery and livelihood stabilization.

Under the administrative goal of “New Suncheon, Together with Citizens,” this year Suncheon City is preparing a new future based on ecology and culture!

Attention is focused on the future steps of Suncheon City, which will boldly draw tomorrow with the great spirit of its citizens.

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