▲ Jo Gwang-han, Mayor of Namyangju City

Sweeping majority of votes
Jo won a landslide victory as the new mayor of Namyangju City at the local election this year by securing 186,730 votes (64.3%) out of 294,382. “I’m pleased to win but more than the joy of victory, I feel heavily responsible to lead the development of Namyangju City with its 670,000 citizens. And I’m determined to devote my whole energy into it with greater focus on railways, new industries, education, culture and art. Deregulation will also be made wherever necessary” said Jo in his inauguration speech. 

The mayor who works, who communicates and who brings harmony
Jo has brought up three policy directions: 1) innovation of railways, new industries, education, culture and art 2) proactive communications with citizens and reflection of opinions into policies 3) harmonious development of the city. “Korea is changing and the world is changing. The North and the USA shook hands after 70 years of confrontation. So the change should also be happening in Namyangju and I will gather the strength of the citizens into making a new and better city, the city that is the hub of the capital region.” 

New Namyangju through the 333 project
40% of the land of Namyangju is green belts and 80% are bounded by a variety of regulations. “Deregulation therefore is a must if we are to see the substantial change and advancement of the city. For this, I will work closely with the central government. Also, Subway Line 4, 6, 8 and 9 need to be connected to Gyeongchun Line through which the current 3 zones of the city must be re-organized into 4 zones. This is very important as it can secure a sustainable development of the city since the 4 zones will function as to bridge the city to the surrounding regions and accelerate the exchanges.” Jo also pointed out the importance of education. “Field-centered education and personality education must be accompanied with the exiting education system. And it needs to be customized according to each age group in a sense of lifelong learning with greater focus on job training especially for career breakers. For this, the city will provide necessary support.” 

Effective welfare system
Followed by the two 3 projects of the 333 project above, the last 3 project is building an effective welfare system. The welfare budget of the city takes 40% of the whole budget. Mayor Jo pointed out ‘youth welfare’ with special emphasis. “It must not benefit students with excellent academic performance only but also students with different talents other than the study. The new welfare system must also focus on the disabled and elderly. This is very important to create a participatory society on the road to a better city which values highly of taking care of socially vulnerable.” As an extension of this new welfare system, Jo is planning to improve the bus lines and turning the riverbank areas into trails, experience facilities and outdoor concert halls and more where citizens visit daily and relax their body and soul and recharge their energy. “A balanced development of the city can also be achieved by making the most of the strong points of each hamlet which counts to a total of 16. If successful, the 16 hamlets can play a great role to raise the city’s status as the hub of the northern hemisphere of the capital region.”  

Citizen-first administration services
Jo wowed the citizens by making his inauguration ceremony the simplest possible. He has not changed the existing office furniture and appliances with new ones and keeps the existing mayor’s car in an effort to save budgets. “The owners of the city are citizens and we, I and my staff, are their truthful servants. Together, we will build a better city, the city that will be the hub of the capital region especially the northern part. So, I ask all citizens of Namyangju to give unsparing support and participation in opening a new era for Namyangju.”