Seongnam City's Think Tank 'Sijeong Yeonguwon' to Open in June

by Lee YeongKyu

Published 12 Apr.2023 08:02(KST)

Sinsangjin, Mayor of Seongnam

The 'Municipal Research Institute,' which will serve as a think tank for Seongnam City in Gyeonggi Province, is set to open in June.

Seongnam City announced on the 12th that it plans to establish the 'Municipal Research Institute' on the first floor of the Seongnam Global Convergence Center, a city-owned building located in Pangyo 2nd Techno Valley, Siheung-dong, Sujeong-gu, aiming for a June opening.

The city previously received approval from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety for the establishment of the Municipal Research Institute on the 6th.

The Municipal Research Institute will play the role of a brain, presenting blueprints for the city's development and discovering large-scale projects to support them.

The main detailed projects include ▲ research on policies and current issues ▲ establishment of mid- to long-term city roadmaps ▲ proactive planning research responding to future demands ▲ operation of academic events and external cooperation exchanges ▲ and building domestic and international cooperative governance and networks.

The Municipal Research Institute can only be established in cities with a population of over 1 million. However, with the amendment of the Local Research Institute Act in April last year, the establishment criteria were relaxed to cities with populations over 500,000.

Accordingly, Seongnam City decided to promote the establishment of the Municipal Research Institute as a core pledge of the 8th local government administration and enacted the 'Ordinance on the Establishment and Operation of the Municipal Research Institute' in December last year. It also secured 3.46 billion KRW in preparation and endowment funds.

The city is currently in the process of hiring the institute director. Following this, it will proceed with the public recruitment of about 20 people, including master's and doctoral researchers and administrative staff, as well as corporate registration procedures and restructuring of a 500㎡ office building.

Shin Sang-jin, Mayor of Seongnam City, emphasized, "Seongnam is a metropolitan city with an actual administrative demand of over 1.5 million people, considering its population of 920,000 and the many foreigners and business workers centered around Pangyo Techno Valley. The Seongnam Municipal Research Institute will become the best research institution leading Seongnam's future through customized policy research reflecting the city's identity and vision."