Heo Seok, Mayor of Suncheon, "Realizing a Self-Sufficient City of 300,000 and Drawing the Future of Suncheon Together with 290,000 Citizens!"

Set the Determination for a New One-Year Term, Not the Last Year of the 4th Year of the 7th Minseon Administration

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Hyung-kwon] On the 29th, Heo Seok, mayor of Suncheon, held a press briefing and said, “We will realize a self-sufficient city of 300,000 people, and as always, even if slowly, we will move forward together with the 290,000 citizens of Suncheon,” adding, “We will draw the blueprint for the future of Suncheon together with the citizens.”

Marking the 3rd anniversary of the launch of the 7th elected administration, Mayor Heo held a session with the press corps in the city hall’s main conference room to reflect on the past three years and explain the future direction of city governance.

The journey of the 7th elected administration, which began in July 2018 not with an inauguration ceremony but at a typhoon site, involved going out to villages, squares, and alleys to meet citizens, ask about their vision for Suncheon, and incorporate their voices.

Community spirit was restored through events such as the Kimchi Sharing Festival, which gathered over 3,000 people, and the Christmas miracle in Songgwang-myeon, where homes were gifted to neighbors affected by fire. This community spirit proved even more powerful during the unprecedented crisis of COVID-19, offering comfort to all citizens through the Hope Vaccine of the “Kwonbun Movement.”

The city strategy 3E project, which builds on Suncheon’s strengths in ecology and education to drive economic vitality, is also showing results.

Positive signals have been lit for Suncheon’s future industries with the successful bid for the 2023 Suncheonman International Garden Expo, selection for the Smart Green New Deal project, the Job World and 4th Industrial Revolution Expo, and the attraction of a public cloud data center.

Long-standing issues that caused citizen inconvenience, such as the Yeonhyang Overpass improvement project, acquisition of Sky Cube, land readjustment in Gagok district, Dongcheon suspension bridge, and Cheongso-gol road alignment improvement, have been resolved. Major events like the Korea Balanced Development Expo, National Urban Regeneration Festival, and Peace Forum were also successfully held.

Suncheon has now evolved into a small but strong city. It has the largest budget in Jeollanam-do and has surpassed being the top city in Jeollanam-do to become one of the top three cities in Honam.

There are still pressing issues remaining, including the route change for the Gyeongjeon Line electrification project, establishment of the Clean-up Environmental Center, attraction of a public medical school and general hospital, relocation of metropolitan public institutions to Suncheon, and the 2023 Suncheonman International Garden Expo.

Mayor Heo stated, “I want to be an honor student who actively finds new challenges rather than an ordinary student who only solves given tasks,” proposing new challenges for the future of Suncheon.

He announced plans to prevent the hollowing out of the old downtown by restricting apartment construction and land development, revitalize the station area and bus terminal, develop large-scale tourism and logistics complexes in the Nakan and Seungju areas, guarantee scholarships for nurturing talent at local universities, and promote urban integration in the Gwangyang Bay area. He emphasized that he will gather opinions from politicians, experts, and citizens to publicize these plans for Suncheon’s future.

Mayor Heo said, “This is not the last year of the 4th year of the 7th elected administration but a new inauguration with the determination and attitude of a one-year term. I will return to the beginning and draw the blueprint for Suncheon,” adding, “As the saying goes, ‘If you go alone, you go fast; if you go together, you go far.’ The journey toward a self-sufficient city of 300,000 will, as always, proceed slowly but together with the 290,000 citizens of Suncheon.”

Meanwhile, starting around 8 p.m. on the same day, a Vision Talk will be held at the outdoor performance hall of Jorye Lake Park, where the vision of Suncheon will be presented and opinions shared with citizens.

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