Mayor Park Seungwon: "Livelihood Comes First Amid International Turmoil... Full Mobilization of Local Government Capabilities"

Gwangmyeong City Launches Emergency 'Livelihood Stability Task Force' in Response to US-Iran Conflict

Task Force Established to Oversee Weekly Situation Checks and Manage Citizen Welfare

Strengthening Economic Response through Monitoring Oil and Consumer Prices and Identifying Corporate Challenges

Gwangmyeong City in Gyeonggi Province (Mayor Seungwon Park) is taking local government-level action to stabilize the livelihoods of its residents amid international turmoil, including the US-Iran War.

Seungwon Park, Mayor of Gwangmyeong, is urgently presiding over the "Emergency Economic Measures Meeting Related to the US-Iran War" held on the 11th at the city hall conference room. Photo by Gwangmyeong City

On the morning of the 11th, Mayor Seungwon Park urgently presided over the 'Emergency Economic Measures Meeting related to the US-Iran War' at the city hall conference room, where he inspected the response system for protecting citizens’ livelihoods and minimizing damage to the local economy.

At the meeting, Mayor Park stated, "The ongoing US-Iran conflict may impact the local economy, including international oil prices and supply chains. We must prepare for the possibility of a prolonged situation and respond proactively at the local government level. It is the role of local government to protect citizens’ lives amid external shocks."

He continued, "While closely monitoring central government policy responses, we need to swiftly establish local government countermeasures. I ask all department heads to thoroughly assess how changes in the international situation affect the local economy and to ensure rigorous situation management."

In response to the recent escalation of armed conflict in the Middle East, which has raised concerns about surging international oil prices and instability in global supply chains, Gwangmyeong City has quickly formed a Livelihood Stability Task Force to assess the potential impact on the local economy and residents, and to devise countermeasures.

The Livelihood Stability Task Force is led by Deputy Mayor Hye-min Choi and operates across six sectors: livelihood economy, corporate support, energy, welfare, public relations, and policy planning.

To strengthen support for tax administration and community response, the tax administration and social economy departments are also participating in the Task Force, providing measures such as deferred payment of local taxes.

Each division is responsible for monitoring trends in international oil prices and consumer prices, as well as identifying challenges faced by small and medium-sized enterprises and small businesses.

During the meeting, participants discussed how to monitor local gas station price trends and essential goods to prevent rising international oil prices from leading to local price instability.

They also reviewed plans to strengthen price monitoring for key items such as flour, cooking oil, and eggs, and considered measures to stimulate consumption, including the use of Gwangmyeong Sarang local currency, to prevent reduced local spending.

Additionally, to quickly identify the difficulties faced by local companies due to rising raw material costs and increased logistics expenses, the city is operating a business support center. The meeting also reviewed ways to stabilize business operations, such as linking SME development funds with policy financing.

Furthermore, in conjunction with central government and Gyeonggi Province policies, the city plans to develop response measures that local companies and residents can feel, strengthen support for vulnerable groups, identify welfare blind spots, and provide situation updates to citizens as part of its livelihood stability efforts.

Mayor Park emphasized, "A rise in oil prices can affect overall living costs and increase the burden on citizens. In particular, we must proactively prepare support measures for vulnerable groups whose livelihoods are directly affected."

He added, "If any of the countermeasures developed on the ground prove effective, we should actively propose them to the central government and Gyeonggi Province. Local governments must also respond strategically to minimize damage to citizens."

The Livelihood Stability Task Force will hold regular weekly inspections and convene additional meetings as needed until the situation stabilizes, in order to develop and implement support measures.

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