Mayor Lee Donghwan: "Quality Jobs Are Key to a Self-Sufficient City... Nurturing Talent for Goyang's Specialized Industries"

Goyang City Enhances Urban Competitiveness with an All-Generation Job System
Triple Crown Winner at the Korea Local Autonomy Management Competition and Korea Job Awards
"Opportunities for Youth, Social Participation for Seniors"... Advancing a Customized Job System

Goyang Special City in Gyeonggi Province (Mayor Lee Donghwan) has established itself as a “leading city for job creation” by actively implementing policies tailored to the characteristics of local industries and the needs of its citizens. Through field-oriented policies and industry-linked support, the city is delivering tangible results that offer opportunities for youth, new beginnings for middle-aged residents, and social participation for seniors.

Lee Donghwan, Mayor of Goyang Special City, is receiving the Prime Minister's Award at the 21st Korea Local Autonomy Management Competition. Provided by Goyang Special City

These efforts have also been recognized in evaluations of job policy initiatives.

According to Goyang Special City on December 1, the city achieved a “triple crown” in job creation by winning the Prime Minister's Award at the 21st Korea Local Autonomy Management Competition, the Excellence Award in the 2025 National Local Government Job Awards, and the Minister’s Award at the 2025 Korea Job Awards for the third consecutive year.

2025 National Local Government Job Awards Public Announcement Category Excellence Award Winner (from left: Kim Younghoon, Minister of Employment and Labor; Lee Doyeon, Director of Job Finance Bureau). Provided by Goyang Special City

Achieving the Triple Crown in Job Policy

The city continues to strengthen the link between education and employment through practical, field-oriented vocational training programs, consistently nurturing talent that can be immediately utilized in the industrial sector.

First, the city operates the “Goyang Customized Job School,” which signs pre-arranged agreements with local companies and simultaneously promotes demand-driven vocational training and employment linkage. This employment-linked model, where companies, local government, and employment-related institutions work together organically, has received high praise.

This year, a total of 135 million won was invested to train 69 participants in three programs: logistics field operations, comprehensive building management specialists, and freight logistics specialists. In particular, the “Comprehensive Building Management Specialist Training Program” achieved early employment targets, contributing to stable employment and the enhancement of job skills for participants.

Additionally, the city was selected for Gyeonggi Province’s “Local Industry Customized Job Creation Support Project,” investing a total of 150 million won. This year, two programs were implemented-training bus drivers in Goyang and training global trade specialists utilizing AI-with 43 people completing the courses.

Exterior view of Naeilkkum Studio. Provided by Goyang Special City

Customized Job Systems for All Generations: Youth, Middle-aged, and Senior Citizens

The city is also continuously promoting customized job support across the life cycle to strengthen the capabilities of youth, middle-aged, and senior citizens.

For youth, the city invested approximately 230 million won in 19 programs centered around “Naeilkkum Studio,” a youth complex cultural space that opened in April this year, with 2,795 participants engaging in career exploration and capacity-building activities. In addition, the regionally-led youth job project (supported by national and provincial funds) that had been implemented over the past three years was discontinued this year due to Ministry of the Interior and Safety guidelines, and replaced with the new “Youth Job Future Package” initiative. With a job fund of 1.3 billion won, three sub-projects-Future Leap Youth Jobs, Future Dream Startup Youth Support, and Future Dream Startup Support-were launched, supporting a total of 186 young people.

For the middle-aged, the city is running its signature “New Middle-aged Career Job Project.” From 2019 to last year, this was supported by the Ministry of Employment and Labor, but with the end of national funding this year, it was converted to a city-run project. By utilizing the experience of professionals aged 50 to 64, the project provides services needed in the community and supports participants in transitioning to private-sector jobs. Key areas include social services (care, health), culture and arts (libraries, museums), counseling and mentoring, and agricultural education. This year, 57 people were placed in 26 projects.

Job-matching events to expand re-employment opportunities for the middle-aged were also held. The “2025 Goyang City Middle-aged and Senior Job Fair,” held last month, directly connected companies with middle-aged job seekers. This year, the fair expanded to include companies in the medical bio and semiconductor manufacturing sectors, with 35 companies participating and aiming to hire 149 people, concluding successfully.

Senior job projects are also active. In particular, the “Senior Companion Convenience Store,” operated in collaboration with GS Retail, has been a success. In addition, “Learning Center Guardians,” “School Environment Management Support,” and “School Meal Assistant” projects-market-oriented job projects where seniors generate their own income-are helping to promote social participation among the elderly.

An elderly person working at the "Senior Companion Convenience Store" in collaboration with GS Retail. Provided by Goyang Special City

Sharing and Spreading 24 Outstanding Job Creation Cases This Year

On November 5, the “2025 Goyang Customized Job Best Practices Presentation” was held to discover outstanding job creation cases in Goyang and to recognize employees who contributed to project implementation.

This year marked the fifth edition of the presentation, where a total of 24 outstanding cases were identified. The top awards went to “Goyang Special City New Middle-aged University,” which provides specialized employment and entrepreneurship programs for the middle-aged by utilizing the human and material resources of local universities (Nonghyup University, Dongguk University, Joongbu University, Korea Aerospace University), and to “Job Creation through Activation of Processing Startups in the Agricultural Sector,” which helps farmers generate income and establish startups.

In addition, job projects in various fields-including for people with disabilities, seniors, local tourism, and therapeutic agriculture-also received honors.

2025 Goyang City Middle-aged and Senior Job Fair. Provided by Goyang Special City

Going forward, the city will continue to focus on nurturing talent needed in the region and expanding quality job opportunities, building a sustainable employment environment and maintaining its achievements as a leading city for job creation.

Lee Donghwan, Mayor of Goyang Special City, stated, “Quality jobs are the key factor that determines the future of a city, and jobs are the core of making Goyang a self-sufficient city. We are diversifying education programs and support for employment and entrepreneurship to nurture talent suited to Goyang’s specialized industries, in line with industrial demand.”

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