Agreement with '7 Local Governments' for the 3rd Relocation of 7 Public Institutions in Gyeonggi-do

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Regarding the third relocation of public institutions in the northeastern region of Gyeonggi Province, the province, seven institutions to be relocated, and seven local governments selected through public contests pledged cooperation for the smooth relocation of their main offices.

On the 29th, Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung, along with the mayors of seven regions including An Byeong-yong of Uijeongbu City, and representatives of seven public institutions including Lee Han-joo, president of the Gyeonggi Research Institute, jointly signed the "Business Agreement for the Promotion of the Third Relocation of Gyeonggi Province Public Institutions" at the Gyeonggi Provincial Office.

At the signing ceremony, Governor Lee said, "There has been much debate regarding the relocation of public institutions, but I believe the most important issue of our time is fairness. Without securing fairness, there will be people who feel wronged and regions that feel unfairly treated," adding, "Another important point is that our society has excessively concentrated resources, leading to the concentration in the Seoul metropolitan area, which causes the extinction of local areas and ultimately results in inefficiency due to the metropolitan area’s overexpansion."

He continued, "The same applies to Gyeonggi Province, where development and growth strategies have been concentrated in the southwest, while the northern and eastern parts and peripheral cities and counties have suffered considerable damage due to overlapping regulations such as military restrictions, water source regulations, and metropolitan area maintenance plans," explaining, "Although it incurs significant costs and faces opposition, it has become inevitable to relocate public institutions extensively to the northeastern region in accordance with the two major causes of restoring fairness and balanced development of Gyeonggi Province."

He further stated, "We will try to alleviate the inconveniences experienced by employees due to the relocation as much as possible and find ways to compensate for the sense of loss or relative deprivation in the regions from which public institutions are moving," emphasizing, "There were regions that applied but were inevitably excluded, and we will seek possible measures to ensure that those regions do not feel unfairly treated."

According to the agreement, Gyeonggi Province will proceed with the relocation of the seven institutions without delay, and the seven cities in the relocation areas will actively cooperate by providing administrative support such as information on buildings and sites to ensure the related institutions can settle quickly.

Previously, the province announced on the 27th of last month the selection of new locations for seven public institutions through a public contest among cities and counties to disperse public institutions concentrated in the southern part of Gyeonggi Province, promote balanced regional development, and establish administrative infrastructure lacking in the northeastern region.

Accordingly, the Gyeonggi Research Institute will relocate to Uijeongbu City, the Gyeonggi Women's Family Foundation to Icheon City, the Gyeonggi Welfare Foundation to Anseong City, the Gyeonggi Agricultural and Marine Products Promotion Agency to Gwangju City, the Gyeonggi Credit Guarantee Foundation to Namyangju City, the Gyeonggi Economic Science Promotion Agency to Paju City, and the Gyeonggi Housing and Urban Corporation to Guri City.

The province expects that the relocation of public institutions will create an environment for attracting private companies by establishing administrative infrastructure in the northern and eastern parts of Gyeonggi Province, and that the influx of public institution employees and visitors will revitalize the local economy and tourism.

Meanwhile, the signing ceremony was attended by Shin Dong-heon, mayor of Gwangju City; Eom Tae-jun, mayor of Icheon City; Ahn Seung-nam, mayor of Guri City; Kim Bo-ra, mayor of Anseong City; Park Shin-hwan, vice mayor of Namyangju City; Jeong Jeong-ok, CEO of the Gyeonggi Women's Family Foundation; Jin Seok-beom, CEO of the Gyeonggi Welfare Foundation; Kang Wi-won, president of the Gyeonggi Agricultural and Marine Products Promotion Agency; Lee Min-woo, chairman of the Gyeonggi Credit Guarantee Foundation; Yoo Seung-kyung, president of the Gyeonggi Economic Science Promotion Agency; and Lee Heon-wook, president of the Gyeonggi Housing and Urban Corporation. Members of the standing committees overseeing each public institution, including Gyeonggi Provincial Assembly members Kim In-young, Jang Dong-il, Choi Jong-hyun, Kim Seong-su, Lee Young-bong, and Kim Mi-sook, also participated.

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