Pohang Mayor Lee Gang-deok to Personally Oversee Year-End Price Stability and Food Safety!

Mayor Lee Gang-deok Emphasizes Managing Tourist City Image During Winter Peak Season

Focus on Guidance Over Crackdowns, Price Checks on Lodging, Retail Stores, and Small Businesses Targeting Ordinary Citizens

Mayor Lee Gang-deok of Pohang City is taking direct charge of price stabilization and food safety management in anticipation of the year-end and New Year holidays and the winter tourism peak season.

Mayor Lee recently pointed out issues regarding the so-called 'overcharging' controversy, where festivals held in other regions and traditional markets offer small portions of food at unreasonable prices. He emphasized that Pohang must make thorough preparations in advance to accommodate the influx of many tourists during the peak winter season, which coincides with the full-scale season for Gwamegi and major events.

Mayor Lee stated, “The overcharging behavior by a very small number of traditional market street vendors is a case that damages the regional image to an irreparable extent and must be eradicated. I will personally oversee current issues and ensure strict price management, not only to enhance the image of Pohang as a tourist city during the peak season but also to consider the struggling local economy.”

Accordingly, Pohang City plans to make every effort to ensure the stability of citizens' lives during the year-end and New Year holidays and to prevent situations where tourists visiting for sunrise viewing and winter travel seasons turn away from the region.

Considering the ripple effects on the low-income economy, the city will focus on guidance rather than crackdowns, concentrating on street vendors, restaurants in tourist areas, inns, motels, pool villas, pensions, and other lodging facilities. It will also conduct regular visits to gas stations and retail stores that serve ordinary citizens to check prices.

Above all, from the year-end and New Year holidays when the Homigot Korean Sunrise Festival is held through to the Lunar New Year peak season next year, the city plans to strengthen on-site price administration by mobilizing all available administrative resources from the city hall, district offices, and town and township administrative welfare centers.

In this regard, the city held a meeting on the 30th at Handong Global University with representatives of food-related organizations and dining industry stakeholders to discuss tourism revitalization and strengthening food safety management.

At the meeting, participants reached a consensus on the negative impact of overcharging controversies on the local commercial district and requested that nearby businesses be informed of the importance of the issue to prevent recurrence. Hygiene management compliance education was also conducted to prevent norovirus food poisoning.

Furthermore, the city plans to establish and focus on measures to strengthen food safety management and promote food tourism, including conducting on-site food poisoning education, guidance, and inspections in collaboration with related departments such as the Nam-gu and Buk-gu district offices, targeting local specialized dining streets.

Mayor Lee Gang-deok said, “We will focus on managing price stabilization and food safety measures in traditional markets and tourist sites that citizens and tourists can directly feel, to breathe warmth into the local alleyway economy and make Pohang an attractive travel destination.”

Earlier this year, Mayor Lee Gang-deok of Pohang embarked on a Minsaeng Tour to celebrate the Lunar New Year.

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