Jeong Myeong-geun, mayor of Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, enters his second year in office on Saturday with an aim to speed along his campaign pledges centering on implementing balanced city development.

The campaign pledges he addressed included establishing and operating a special committee for balanced city development, building a technopole, establishing a botanical garden, pushing forward the “Hwaseong International Theme Park,” expediting a metropolitan railroad project and building the Hwaseong City Medical Center and nursing home.

In March, Jeong announced his vision of attracting 20 trillion won ($15.3 billion) in corporate investments within his term that ends in 2026. The city has set out major goals to achieve this vision: expanding new growth investments by large companies in the city, creating future industry clusters, attracting knowledge industries, strategic service industries and high-tech companies.

“As of next month, a department specifically dedicated to corporate investments will be established, allowing for more systematic work centered on promoting corporate investments,” said Jeong. “For Hwaseong’s sustainable development and for it to become a city of coexistence with different enterprises, we are conducting investment discussions with various future high-tech industries.”

Hwaseong has also struggled with public transportation delays, as there is only one metropolitan bus route that runs through the city. To lessen the inconvenience, Jeong also pitched the idea for the Metropolitan Call Bus, also known as M-DRT, to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

“The M-DRT is an intercity bus line that operates on a fixed route during rush hour but modifies the route when there is less traffic to operate more flexibly,” explained Jeong. “The M-DRT is flexible on its operation route and will be able to take passengers from one place to another in response to passenger calls and prebookings. This will mainly be centered on new residential areas and other spots where public transportation availability is low.”

As of the end of May this year, around 990,000 residents were counted to be living in Hwaseong. At this rate, Jeong estimates the population will exceed 1 million at the end of this year or in 2024. This means Hwaseong could be eligible for “special city” status next year.

Cities in Korea are given the “special city” status once their population exceeds 1 million. So far, Yongin, Goyang and Suwon in Gyeonggi Province and Changwon in South Gyeongsang Province have obtained the status, meaning Hwaseong would become the fifth city in Korea to become eligible.

The only difference between Hwaseong and the other four cities with the special city status is that Hwaseong lacks a borough office. To address this matter, Jeong met with a Ministry of the Interior and Safety official to discuss the need to establish such an office.

“We have established a special city preparation committee to prepare a plan for establishing this borough office centered on the needs of Hwaseong residents,” Jeong said.

Jeong says that Hwaseong has many faces of its own, including large residential areas, rural areas, the sea and one of the nation’s largest newly established towns, known as Dongtan. “Since being given its city status in 2001, the city has experienced an explosive amount of growth over the past two decades, housing large industrial sites for companies such as Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motor and Kia and for 27,000 other manufacturing companies,” the mayor said about Hwaseong.

For its achievements, Hwaseong was named a “global leading city,” ranking No. 1 in its overall competitiveness among local governments and regional gross domestic product growth rate, as well as having the lowest risk of disappearing.

“For Hwaseong’s balanced development, the city will investigate its balanced development status and will establish a development plan that fits the characteristics of each area,” said Jeong. “Hwaseong is a city that has grown rapidly with a promising future. I will continue to try my best as mayor for Hwaseong’s sustainable development.”

Jeong has strongly advocated for the enactment of a “Jessica Bill,” after Park Byung-hwa, a sex offender who committed multiple crimes in Suwon decades ago, was released from prison. In the government’s New Year’s address in 2023, it said that it would actively consider the introduction of such a bill to prohibit sex offenders from living nearby educational and care facilities for children.

By Lee Jung-joo (lee.jungjoo@heraldcorp.com) and Park Joung-kyu (fob140@heraldcorp.com)