Changwon Mayor Heo Seong-mu, 'Focus on Population Rebound, Economic V-Turn, and Citizen Daily Life Plus'

Mayor Heo: "Using the Special City Created with Citizens as a Lever, We Will Steadily Plan a New Decade of the Future"

Mayor Heo Seong-mu of Changwon is holding a New Year's press conference at the Changwon City Hall Press Center on the 7th.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Saeyan] On the 7th, Changwon Mayor Heo Seong-mu mentioned 'population rebound,' 'economic V-turn,' and 'citizens' daily life plus' as key focuses for city administration this year during the New Year's press conference.

First, to achieve a population rebound, the city plans to introduce the 'Marriage Dream Loan,' which provides low-interest loans for the lump sum needed at marriage and reduces childcare burdens.

To prevent population outflow due to housing issues, approximately 30,000 new housing units will be supplied by 2025.

This is a drastic measure to reverse the declining trend of the population, which dropped from 1.08 million at the time of integration to 1.03 million, into a rebound phase.

For the 'economic V-turn,' the city set a goal to attract 250 companies and create 20,000 jobs by 2025 through the Corporate Attraction 2520+ Project, aiming for a total investment scale of 20 trillion won.

Additionally, to respond to the climate crisis, the city announced plans to lead the decarbonization trend and create a foundation for local companies to leap forward.

The 'Daily Life Plus' project will also be promoted so that citizens can tangibly feel changes in their daily lives.

This project aims to innovate the '4 discomforts' around daily life: anxiety about COVID-19 and disasters, inconveniences such as parking difficulties in residential areas, unpleasant environments, and minor complaints about city administration.

Mayor Heo expressed his ambition, saying, "We will prepare a special city that prioritizes practicality and substance."

He added, "During the remaining one year until the launch of the special city, we will secure metropolitan-level administrative and financial authority, obtain powers closely related to citizens' lives, and create more special provisions to enhance citizen benefits such as resolving welfare blind spots."

In particular, plans include securing practical maritime and port autonomy over Jinhae New Port and the 324km coastline, strengthening autonomous urban planning rights, legislating firefighting special provisions, and securing financial special provisions to support these unique authorities exclusive to Changwon City.

Mayor Heo concluded the press conference by saying, "This year is the first year to prepare for the next 10 years. We will firmly design a new future decade of plus growth and amplify the innovation achievements and growth foundations accumulated over the past two and a half years to make this a 'year of fruition' to reap the benefits."

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