31 Policy Tasks Requested as Campaign Pledges

Ahead of the general and presidential elections, Suwon City has decided to actively respond by holding policy briefing sessions to enable preliminary candidates to reflect policy issues in their platform development and election pledges.

On the 9th, the city held a policy briefing session at the City Hall Situation Room, inviting preliminary candidates for the April general election. The city delivered 31 identified local policy issues to the preliminary candidates and requested that they adopt them as campaign pledges.

Approximately 50 preliminary candidates and related officials attended the session and showed keen interest in policies for Suwon's development. Mayor Yeom Tae-young and department heads from City Hall explained current administrative issues based on policy materials.

Major policy projects the city has prepared for long-term development include △issues regarding the realization of local autonomy and decentralization △restoration of administrative districts for Hwaseong, Osan, and Suwon △creation of an East Asia-centered history and culture creative city △establishment of organic agricultural production complexes △construction of a comprehensive hospital in western Suwon △construction of an Suwon Station regional transfer center △relocation of Suwon Airfield and creation of an advanced complex industrial zone—a total of 31 major policy tasks.

Mayor Yeom Tae-young said, "Though 21 years have passed since local assemblies were revived, Suwon, the nation's largest basic local government, still faces unreasonable discrimination compared to other cities due to centralized thinking and the fact that it is in the capital region."

Mayor Yeom continued, "I ask preliminary candidates to carefully review Suwon City's policy materials and adopt them as local development pledges so that we can strengthen local autonomy and decentralization along with constituency development. I hope that local policy issues will be reflected in the pledges of general election candidates and eventually lead to national projects."

Suwon City has been operating a task force (TF) team involving private experts and related government officials to discover major social infrastructure (SOC) national projects such as railways and roads and reflect them as local pledge projects in the general and presidential elections.