Mayor Kwak Sang-wook of Osan City Receives 'Local Autonomy Merit Award' at 6th INAK Social Contribution Awards

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Seo Dong-young] Mayor Kwak Sang-wook of Osan City has been awarded the 'Local Autonomy Merit Award' in the local government sector at the '6th INAK Social Contribution Awards' hosted by the Korea Internet Newspaper Association.

The INAK Social Contribution Awards were established to discover and recognize individuals and organizations that have achieved outstanding accomplishments in various sectors of society. The awards comprise a total of 12 categories including national development, economy, parliamentary affairs, education, law, national policy innovation, local autonomy, science, public health, press club, culture and arts, and Korean Wave culture.

The INAK Social Contribution Awards ceremony was scheduled for 2 p.m. on the 1st of next month at the Korea Press Center; however, it was converted to a non-contact event on the 31st as COVID-19 quarantine measures were raised to Level 2.5.

Mayor Kwak has led Osan City from the 5th elected term starting in 2010 through the current 7th term, and has been recognized for establishing the groundwork for local autonomy development based on educational self-governance by applying innovative education policies throughout city administration, establishing the city brand of 'Osan, City of Education,' and recovering regional settlement. He was praised for laying the foundation for local autonomy development.

He also received recognition for his contributions to the advancement of local autonomy through policies that have become national models, including a UNESCO presentation on COVID-19 response cases, restoration of the Osan Stream, certification as Gyeonggi Province's first UNESCO Child-Friendly City, and two consecutive years of top-tier evaluation on pledges by the Korea Manifesto.

Mayor Kwak Sang-wook stated, "Although 25 years have passed since the implementation of the local autonomy system, decentralization has remained centralized contrary to the progress of autonomy," adding, "To enhance the competitiveness of the Republic of Korea in this new era, I will make every effort within the system to strengthen citizen participation and ensure that local governments can secure substantial autonomy rights."