Gubokgyu County Governor's Unstoppable Drive to Realize 'Renew Hwasun! Make Residents Happy!'
[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Chunsu] In July, the new administration of the 8th term was launched with the government goal of "Renewing Hwasun! Making residents happy!"
On the 30th, Hwasun County, Jeollanam-do, announced that it had spent a busier year than ever before by actively promoting major pending projects and the blueprint for the future of Hwasun.
Over the past six months, the county finalized the pledges of the 8th term under five government policies: ▲ Open administration serving residents ▲ Hwasun economy rich in jobs ▲ A cultural city where people want to stay ▲ A wealthy rural area with high income ▲ Welfare Hwasun enjoyed by all.
Throughout the administration, many changes that residents could feel were made, and meaningful achievements for a new leap forward were accomplished.
◆ Visiting inauguration greetings, town and township tour living room roundtable... Practicing communication and empathetic administration
Immediately after taking office on July 1, the county governor visited the inauguration ceremonies of new town and township heads, encouraging on-the-ground administration by gifting sneakers, and directly conveyed his government philosophy and administrative direction to residents through visiting inauguration greetings.
He also took the lead in practicing communication and empathetic administration by holding 68 meetings such as town and township tour living room roundtable discussions to listen to voices from all walks of life and immediately reflect them in government affairs.
Efforts were also made to improve civil service by ▲ relocating town and township offices to the first floor ▲ assigning team leaders at civil service counters ▲ requiring all staff to wear name tags ▲ implementing a real-name system for civil complaints ▲ and establishing a specialized civil complaint counseling system.
These practical changes tailored to residents' perspectives were evaluated as successfully achieving both improved convenience for civil complaints and increased trust from residents.
◆ The 41st Residents' Day event and successful hosting of the Hwasun Chrysanthemum Festival
With the improvement of the COVID-19 situation and the full lifting of social distancing, various events and local festivals were held one after another, revitalizing the local community.
The Hwasun Residents' Day event, resumed after three years, was held successfully with about 40,000 residents and tourists attending, and the Hwasun Chrysanthemum Festival, held for 17 days from October 28, attracted a total of about 280,000 visitors who enjoyed the scent of chrysanthemums and the autumn atmosphere.
At Namsan Park, where the Chrysanthemum Festival was held, booths selling local agricultural specialty products were operated, generating total revenue of about 150 million KRW, greatly contributing to increasing income for local farmers and promoting Hwasun County's excellent agricultural specialties.
◆ Preparing future food sources in tourism, agriculture, and vaccines progressing steadily
The county selected tourism, agriculture, and vaccines as key sectors to lead Hwasun's future and showed visible results in a short period through proactive and bold investments.
The Hwasun Cultural Tourism Foundation, which was quickly prepared at the start of the 8th term, is scheduled to launch early next year. The foundation will function as a cultural tourism control tower overseeing tourism content and product development linked to culture and arts.
In addition, the signing of the 'Dongbok Dam Win-Win Development Agreement' with Gwangju City in October marked a turning point in the long-standing issue of managing Hwasun Jeokbyeok, and the 'Hwasun Flood Control Reservoir Business Agreement' with the Yeongsangang River Basin Environmental Office is underway to create a park golf course and beautiful waterfront space on the idle land of the Iyang retention basin.
In agriculture, projects such as ▲ introducing foreign seasonal workers ▲ supporting facility greenhouses for youth and retirees were promoted to resolve rural labor shortages and lay the foundation for profitable rural areas.
Promotion and focused investment in the online shopping mall 'Hwasun Farm' resulted in sales of 176 million KRW in 2022, achieving more than three times the sales compared to the previous year.
In the future growth industry of vaccines, achievements include ▲ completion of the Vaccine Safety Technology Support Center ▲ selection for the advanced project linking therapeutic vaccines and cell therapy commercialization (8.8 billion KRW), and the successful hosting of the 'Hwasun International Vaccine Forum' held last November, enhancing its status as a leading K-bio city.
◆ Discovering happiness policies for residents... Village doctor system receives favorable reviews
Various policies aimed at realizing the happiness of Hwasun residents also attracted attention.
Highly praised as excellent policies of the 8th term were ▲ the village doctor system ▲ support for standing tables in senior centers ▲ enactment of ordinances supporting youth and newlyweds, continuously discovering and implementing various policies that provide practical help to residents.
One of the pledges of the 8th term, the ▲ supply of 10,000 KRW rental housing for youth and newlyweds, is scheduled to begin occupancy in the second half of next year following a business agreement with Booyoung Housing.
Additionally, policies to alleviate household burdens and revitalize the local economy, such as extending the special discount on the local gift certificate 'Hwasun Love Gift Certificate' until 2023, are being thoroughly prepared.
◆ Excellent results in various evaluations and budget acquisition... Momentum for key projects
Hwasun County wrapped up the year fruitfully by achieving outstanding results in various evaluations and budget acquisitions this year.
It was selected as an excellent city and county in the regional special zone evaluation hosted by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, received the highest rating in the eco-friendly agricultural materials project evaluation by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, and ranked first in Jeonnam in the regional safety index evaluation by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, among other central-level evaluations.
Securing a record-high national budget of 125.4 billion KRW and being selected for a total of 60 public projects, including ▲ Rural Space Maintenance Project (25 billion KRW) ▲ Pilot Village Care Project (22.2 billion KRW), gave momentum to the promotion of pending projects of the 8th term and the realization of a happy Hwasun.
County Governor Koo Bok-gyu said, "During the six months since taking office, I have worked tirelessly to bring a wind of change to Hwasun County and complete the blueprint for a new Hwasun," adding, "The good results across the administration were possible thanks to the unwavering support of the residents and the dedicated efforts of public officials."
He continued, "Based on the achievements made this year, I ask for the continued support and interest of the residents so that we can achieve even greater leaps in 2023."
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