Democratic Party's Icheon Mayoral Candidate Sung Soo-seok Announces 'Five Pledges for Regional Economic Co-prosperity'

[Suwon Ilbo=Um In-yong Reporter] Sung Soo-seok, the Democratic Party's mayoral candidate for Icheon, announced on the 1st the 'Five Pledges for Regional Economic Co-prosperity' to revitalize the local economy and declared that he will achieve a structural transformation so that various development projects underway in Icheon will inevitably lead to regional economic activation.

Candidate Sung stated through a press release on the 1st, "Currently, large-scale projects such as apartment construction worth hundreds of billions of won, industrial complex development, and logistics facility projects are continuously underway in Icheon," and noted, "However, local ready-mixed concrete and construction materials businesses, equipment and transportation companies, and local service providers are being excluded from construction sites or have extremely low participation rates, causing serious relative deprivation."

He continued, "There are many voices from the field saying that while many companies generate massive profits in the region, the substantive benefits remaining in the regional economy are woefully insufficient," and emphasized, "Now is the time to establish a virtuous cycle where development benefits are fully returned to society."

To this end, Candidate Sung first pledged to introduce the 'Icheon Priority Purchase and Priority Use System.'

The plan involves having companies conclude agreements on local business participation during the permitting process for government-funded construction projects as well as large-scale private development projects, thereby strongly encouraging the priority use of major construction materials and equipment such as ready-mixed concrete and asphalt produced in Icheon.

Additionally, he stated, "We will transparently disclose to citizens the track records of local business use at apartment construction sites, industrial complexes, and logistics centers, allowing citizens to directly evaluate companies' contributions to the regional economy, and introduce a 'Regional Subcontracting Target System' to secure substantial work for local construction, equipment, and transportation companies."

In particular, he explained, "The Icheon City Hall, its subordinate agencies, and funded and invested organizations will pursue an 'Expanded Priority Purchase Policy for Government-Funded Construction Projects Using Local Products' to prioritize purchasing products from local small and medium-sized enterprises and goods from small business owners, with the public taking the lead in opening sales channels."

He further noted, "Through the establishment of a new 'Regional Economic Co-prosperity Agreement System,' we will comprehensively promote ▲local workforce hiring ▲use of local materials ▲local business subcontracting participation ▲expanded use of local agricultural products and small business owners."

He added, "Companies that do business on Icheon's land and earn profits in Icheon should naturally co-prosper and grow together with the local community," and stressed, "I will build a healthy economic ecosystem where economic effects generated in the region do not leak out and continue to circulate within the region."

Furthermore, he stated, "We will make Icheon a co-prosperity city where large corporations and local small business owners grow together," and expressed, "The money of Icheon will circulate in Icheon, and this will lead directly to job creation and increased income for citizens—I will certainly complete this practical economic policy."