Respected and beloved citizens! And public officials!
The Year of 2025, the year of the blue snake (Eulsa Year), has dawned with hope and anticipation.
The blue snake symbolically represents wisdom, change, and transformation.
Change is a source of anxiety and fear, but at the same time, it is an opportunity for growth.
I hope this will be a year where all citizens open new chapters in their lives without fearing change.
Last year was marked by heightened political and economic crises amid internal and external uncertainties, including the impeachment crisis triggered by the declaration of martial law, the U.S. presidential election, and slowdown in economic growth.
However, thanks to the support and cooperation of our citizens, Anseong City was able to seize opportunities for further development.
I would like to extend my deepest gratitude once again.
Dear citizens of Anseong and public officials!
South Korea faces an unprecedented warning: with the world's lowest birth rate and population concentration in the capital region, cities are disappearing from local areas.
In 2024, KBS and the Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements launched an interactive news page showing 100-year population changes in 229 municipalities nationwide.
According to the data, 50 years from now, the minimum administrative threshold of 20,000 people is projected to collapse in 78 areas, including districts in major cities such as Jung-gu in Busan and Nam-gu in Daegu, and even in the capital region such as Yongsan-gu in Seoul and Gwangmyeong-si in Gyeonggi Province.
Anseong City's population of 210,356 in 2024 is expected to fall below the 100,000 mark in 2072, 48 years from now, and 37 years later in 2109, it is projected to fall below the 20,000 threshold.
A 2021 survey found that 52% wanted to relocate to the capital region, citing reasons such as 'living in an area with better transportation systems (32%)', 'pursuing better cultural and leisure life (32%)', and 'improving job prospects (31%)', with convenience of life and economic conditions as the main factors.
Fortunately, Anseong City is part of the capital region, so its population is currently increasing, albeit slightly.
However, 8 out of 15 eup-myeon-dong (townships and districts) are at risk of disappearing.
Regional imbalances in Anseong City are growing larger.
If we fail to improve transportation, culture, and job opportunities, Anseong City will not be safe from the risk of disappearing.
In 2025, Anseong City will begin a difficult race to prevent its disappearance.
2025 will be the inaugural year of 'Sustainable Anseong'.
A 'New Anseong' will begin.
Following the selection of the Semiconductor Components and Materials Specialized Complex in 2023, preliminary procedures have been completed, and full-scale projects will commence.
Beginning with semiconductor workforce development, test-bed construction, and anchor company technology development projects, Dongsin Industrial Complex will also materialize.
With a major domestic conglomerate leading the global mobility market having its location virtually confirmed, construction will begin targeting completion in 2026.
This will drive the restructuring of Anseong's industrial structure alongside the semiconductor components and materials sector.
The Geumgwang Lake Sky Observatory, completed in 2024, provided confidence in the success of the lake tourism belt project.
Starting with Geumgwang Lake, the lake tourism project will expand to include Chilgok, Gosaem, and Cheongryong lakes.
We successfully completed the candidate cultural city project and were selected as a cultural city.
Beginning in 2025 with the East Asia Cultural City project alongside the cultural city initiative, Anseong will be reborn as an attractive city where everyone wants to visit, allowing citizens to enjoy culture and enhancing quality of life.
Agriculture and rural areas will also change.
Plans established through discussions with local residents for the success of the Eastern Regional Rural Agreement Project will materialize in Ilchuk and Juksan.
With the establishment of an integrated food support center, Anseong local food processing support center, smart farms, and biogas power plants, the transition from production and distribution to future agriculture will begin.
None of this fell from the sky as good fortune.
Although others said it was impossible, the result of our citizens and public officials not giving up, but discussing together and working hard is what we have created.
If the past four years from the seventh directly-elected administration to now have been a time for planning and preparation, 2025 is the year of implementation.
We have carefully made preparations for implementation.
While Anseong City Corporation remains stalled, an 'Industrial Promotion Agency' will be established to restructure the industrial framework and attract and foster companies where young people want to work.
A 'Culture and Tourism Foundation' will also be established to create an attractive cultural city and a Anseong where everyone wants to visit.
We are preparing new educational models to nurture creative and autonomous Anseong citizens who will lead Anseong's future without leaving the city.
In the era of population decline, we will prepare for administrative changes where residential areas and living areas become equally important.
Starting with the issuance of cyber citizenship certificates, we will increase the population of those with affection for Anseong.
The road ahead is a difficult long-distance race that requires sustained effort.
However, we do not have much time ahead of us.
That is why we must all work together.
One person can go fast alone, but many people can go far together.
Citizens of Anseong, members of Anseong City Council, and public officials,
We must become one team for 'Sustainable Anseong'.
To win the race, I would like to propose two rules that team members must follow.
First, I ask that you join together to create 'Anseong where everyone is happy' through 'respect'.
Dr. Reinhard Haller says we are living masked with 'coolness' in an age of indifference.
As a result, coldness is considered 'hot' attitude, critical thinking is a way of thinking to pursue, and egocentrism is accepted as a social ideal.
The attitudes we take toward one another have become unfriendly and rough, and insult and expose have become everyday occurrences.
We defend ourselves from the sharp words of those around us by appearing cool, and in trying to appear strong, we fail to properly express our true feelings and become lonely.
'Respect' is the key driving force that changes our attitudes toward ourselves and those around us, transforms our behavior and character, and ultimately changes our lives.
Humans are beings who need love and praise.
Respect is the foundation that increases creativity and motivation and develops interpersonal skills.
In workplace relationships as well as romantic and marital relationships, respect makes us and those around us stronger.
An attitude of respect toward others is showing our excellent character to another person, and this returns as positive feedback, raising our self-esteem and charisma.
Second, I ask that you join together to create 'an attractive Anseong where everyone wants to come' by raising 'self-esteem'.
There are Anseong citizens who often make negative comments about Anseong City: 'Anseong is exclusive. Local protectionism is severe. That is why the railroad was taken by Pyeongtaek.' 'When companies try to enter and develop, there are great difficulties, and many companies have actually not entered because of this,' and so on.
However, this is somewhat different from the facts.
The Gyeongbu Line passing through Pyeongtaek rather than Anseong was a decision made by the Japanese colonial government, which had to complete the railroad construction quickly during the Japanese occupation period to transport war materials to Manchuria.
Over the past four years, the total number of development permits proposed in Anseong was 2,436, of which only 1.6% were rejected.
The reason for rejection was not residents' opposition, but the failure to comply with legal conditions for licensing.
When asked if they experienced it firsthand, most say they heard it from others.
Stories that differ from the facts become exaggerated as they pass through several people, and Anseong is becoming a city that is seen as a bad place to live.
Such negative images can be a factor preventing outsiders from coming to Anseong.
It can be a factor that drives young people in Anseong away.
It can also be a negative factor in finding the cause of certain problems.
Rather than finding the causes of problems and solutions for improvement, we give up saying 'that's just how Anseong is', and ultimately resort to 'I should leave Anseong'.
Of course, I am aware that Anseong City is not perfect in all respects.
However, Anseong City is a city with many advantages and possibilities.
We must widely publicize our strengths and possibilities, and rather than complaints about our shortcomings, adopt them as challenges to be solved, analyze causes coldly, and resolve them through bone-deep innovation.
The environment surrounding us in 2025 is not favorable.
However, I will not allow the fear of economic downturn to slow the pace of Anseong's development.
With the goal of 'citizen-centered · citizen-interest' that I promised when taking office, I will move forward without wavering with the spirit of 'Gongjaebulsa' (功在不舍 - success lies in perseverance) for the happiness and welfare of citizens.
Water drops can bore through rock not because of their strength, but because of their persistence.
What we need now is consistent will and action for Anseong's development.
I wish you all a Happy New Year 2025, the Year of the Blue Snake (Eulsa Year), and a happy year where the hopes and dreams of you and your families come true.
Thank you.