Sang-il Lee, Mayor of Yongin, "Will Further Enhance the Value of Yongin's Future, City, People, and Daily Life"

Next Year's Budget Set at 3.2377 Trillion Won... 23.1 Billion Won Increase from This Year
"Administrative Efforts Focused on Semiconductor Complex" "Expanded Investment in Welfare and Education"

"We focused on enhancing the future value of Yongin, the global semiconductor hub city, while simultaneously raising the value of the city, its people, and everyday life," said Lee Sang-il, Mayor of Yongin City, Gyeonggi Province, outlining the city administration's operational policy for next year.

The mayor made these remarks during his policy speech at the regular meeting of the Yongin City Council on the 30th of last month.

On that day, the city set the budget proposal for next year at 3.2377 trillion KRW, an increase of 23.1 billion KRW compared to last year, and submitted it to the city council. Considering financial difficulties due to a decrease in local taxes, the mayor explained that the budget was formulated with a focus on maintaining sound fiscal management while boldly increasing investments for the future and welfare budgets for vulnerable groups, reflecting a strategy of selection and concentration.

Lee Sang-il, Mayor of Yongin City, is explaining the city's administrative plan for next year at the regular meeting of the Yongin City Council on the 30th of last month.
[Photo by Yongin City]

Advancing the Groundbreaking of the System Semiconductor Industrial Complex and Building a Semiconductor Expressway

In his policy speech, Mayor Lee evaluated this year’s administration by saying, "We have achieved several accomplishments in a short period, including laying the foundation for a global semiconductor hub city," and added, "We will concentrate administrative efforts to advance the groundbreaking of the I-dong and Namsa advanced system semiconductor national industrial complex by six months ahead of the government’s plan, targeting the first half of 2026." Earlier, in March this year, the government designated 2.15 million pyeong in the I-dong and Namsa-eup areas as an advanced system semiconductor national industrial complex, and in July, designated this site along with Samsung Electronics’ Giheung Campus and Wonsam-myeon Yongin Semiconductor Cluster as three national advanced strategic industry specialized complexes.

The mayor also emphasized the expansion of railway and road networks to build a semiconductor belt. He explained, "To swiftly establish the foundation of a global semiconductor hub city, we will construct a semiconductor expressway that tightly connects each industrial complex," and added, "We will actively promote the expansion of National Route 45 and the construction and expansion of Local Routes 57 and 82." He also expressed his intention to actively cooperate with the government to establish urban rail networks, including the extension of the Gyeonggang Line and Seoul Subway Line 3.

Mayor Lee stated, "We will steadily proceed with the establishment of a semiconductor Meister High School, aiming for its opening in 2026, and actively promote the creation of contract departments or specialized educational programs through institutions such as Kyung Hee University and Myongji University." Additionally, he plans to promote the establishment of a semiconductor industry-academia cooperation hub in Yongin in collaboration with Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) to actively nurture semiconductor talent.

Support measures for residents will also be implemented during the development of the semiconductor industrial complex. He said, "We will secure about 110,000 pyeong of relocation land in the Chang-ri area of Namsa-eup, adjacent to the national industrial complex, to assist citizens living in the national industrial complex zone, including housing relocation," and added, "We will promptly prepare relocation measures for about 70 registered companies and factories within the industrial complex site."

The mayor further explained that to create a business-friendly environment, the city will promote projects to stabilize small and medium-sized enterprises’ management, support rental costs for workers’ dormitories, and assist in developing overseas sales channels.

Revitalizing the Old Downtown through Urban Regeneration

Improving citizens’ living infrastructure is also a key focus of Mayor Lee’s operational plan for next year.

To this end, the city will first promote urban regeneration projects in the old downtown area. By 2026, 65.2 billion KRW will be invested in urban regeneration projects transforming areas including Yongin Central Market and Jungang-dong, and a new Cheoin District Office building will be constructed and relocated to the site of the Mapyeong-dong Sports Complex. The Yongin Public Bus Terminal is also planned to be completed next year without delay.

The mayor also said, "We will significantly expand roads and living infrastructure by widening and opening National Route 17 and Local Route 315, among others." He plans to create a low-cost, high-efficiency, and rational transportation system by expanding metropolitan and charter buses for commuting to Seoul, utilizing national and public land, and redistributing lanes.

Additionally, Mayor Lee explained in his policy speech plans for remodeling the Central Library and Guseong Library, constructing the Yongin Creative Science Library and Sinbong Library, and building citizen-centered customized government offices in Yeongdeok 2-dong, Bora-dong, and Dongbaek 1 and 3-dong.

Expanding Welfare and Education Investments Despite Fiscal Tightening

The mayor emphasized, "Despite fiscal tightening, investments in education and welfare sectors will continue to be strengthened."

To this end, next year the city will be the first in Gyeonggi Province to provide additional support for infertility treatment costs and install child-customized cafeterias in national and public daycare centers. The city will focus on improving aging school facilities and commuting environments within the region and expand support for youth independence through programs such as basic youth income and youth tomorrow savings accounts.

Mayor Lee also stated, "To enhance senior citizens’ safety, we will increase virtual reality (AR) sports experience spaces and resume the citizen safety insurance, which was suspended during the 7th local government term, to operate a social safety net against everyday safety accidents."

Investment expansion in culture, tourism, and sports sectors will also be pursued. The plan is to create a smart tourism city around the Korean Folk Village and G-Museum Park to establish a regional landmark, and to expand sports infrastructure by constructing the Bandabi Sports Center and Gwanggyo Sports Center.

The mayor emphasized, "We will successfully host the 42nd Korea Theater Festival, the largest theater festival in the country, in June next year to elevate our status as a cultural city," and added, "We will expand the Po-eun Art Hall facilities to a 1,500-seat capacity and enhance citizens’ cultural enjoyment opportunities through cooperation with local cultural artists, thereby raising the city’s level."

Mayor Lee concluded, "Next year, we will continue to elevate administrative capabilities and carry out responsible city administration that delivers results through imagination and the discovery of new ideas."

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