Hwasun-gun Holds 'Performance Report Meeting' on the 1st Anniversary of the 8th Elected Term

County Governor Gubokgyu: "Hwasun, the No.1 Namdo Tourism Destination Where 5 Million Tourists Stay, Will Strive to Become a Self-Sufficient City with 100,000 Population"

On the 29th, Hwasun-gun, Jeollanam-do announced that it held the "Renew Hwasun! Make Citizens Happy!" 1st Anniversary Commemorative County Administration Performance Report Meeting for the 8th Term of the Elected Government at the county office's large conference room.

The report meeting was prepared in a format where County Governor Gu Bok-gyu directly explained the major achievements of the 1st anniversary of the citizen happiness era of the 8th elected government and the current status of county administration, attended by members of the Hwasun-gun press corps, other journalists, and related officials.

In his greeting, Governor Gu expressed his reflections on the past year of intense efforts marking the 1st anniversary of the 8th elected government and declared his determination to devote himself solely to the development of Hwasun with a heavy sense of responsibility for preparing Hwasun’s future after the closure of the Hwasun mining site.

The report meeting, held under the theme of "County Administration Performance Report Meeting with Journalists," concluded with explanations of Hwasun-gun’s general status, key projects, major achievements, and excellent policies, followed by a Q&A session with the reporters.

According to the general status, Hwasun-gun covers an area of 787㎢, with forest land accounting for 73% (576㎢), the second highest proportion in the province.

The county budget secured 750.5 billion KRW, ranking first among county-level units in the province, and the population totaled 61,680 (32,128 households), ranking third among county-level units in Jeollanam-do. Among them, the population of Hwasun-eup was 39,305 (63%), and the elderly population was 17,927 (29%).

A notable feature is that a significant portion of the total population is concentrated in Hwasun-eup, and the elderly population ratio far exceeds the super-aged society standard (20%), indicating a serious demographic issue.

The 18 key projects by region are divided into three zones: Hwasun-eup zone, Eastern zone, and Western zone, focusing mainly on establishing the foundation for a self-sufficient city of 100,000 people through culture, tourism, and industrial complexes for job creation.

First, the representative projects in the Hwasun-eup zone include six projects such as the Hwasun Cheon Flower River Road construction, which began in February, Ant Hill Observatory construction, Namsan Park creation, Dongguri Lake Park development, the 2nd Biopharmaceutical Complex construction, and the Green Smart New Town development.

In the Eastern zone, six projects such as the Jeokbyeok National Attraction Project (Iseo-myeon), Yeondun-ri Forest Tourism Development Project (Dongbok-myeon), Seoseongje Hwansanjeong Tourist Site Development, Seoseong-ri Rural Space Maintenance Project, Odong-ri Rural Care Village Pilot Complex, and Dong-myeon 3rd Agricultural Industrial Complex Construction (Dong-myeon) are progressing rapidly through feasibility studies and other processes.

The Western zone is advancing six projects including Neungju Historical and Cultural City Development, Expansion of Jo Gwang-jo Exile Site Development (Neungju), Dolmen Four Seasons Festival (Dogok, Chunyang-myeon), Unjusa Four Seasons Park (Doam-myeon), Gaechunsan Historical and Cultural Resource Storytelling (Doam, Chunyang-myeon), and Hwasun Flood Control Ecological Park Construction (81-hole Park Golf Course - Iyang-myeon).

Among the 1-year achievements of the 8th elected government of Hwasun-gun, the area where citizens could clearly feel change was undoubtedly the ▲empathic and service-oriented administration.

They chose direct communication methods mainly for communication and empathy, such as holding a total of 95 town and township touring love room discussion meetings, relocating township offices to the first floor, assigning team leaders at civil complaint desks, opening a civil complaint branch office in Hwasun-eup, implementing specialized civil complaint consultation control, and holding MZ generation meetings.

The transfer of management rights for the Jeokbyeok outpost to Manghyangjeong section, a long-standing wish of Hwasun citizens, opened the era of permanent opening of Jeokbyeok after Gwangju Metropolitan City, Jeollanam-do, and Hwasun-gun signed a win-win development agreement for Dongbok Dam on October 31 last year.

The transfer of the flood control map also saw progress after the Yeongsangang River Basin Environmental Office and Hwasun-gun signed a business agreement on November 14 last year. Once the 81-hole park golf course and waterfront park are completed, it is expected to rapidly emerge as a tourism hub in Hwasun.

Hwasun-gun achieved a historic feat by ranking first overall among 22 cities and counties in Jeollanam-do in the "2023 Government Joint Evaluation."

Additionally, in local government innovation evaluations, it ranked 6th among 82 county-level units nationwide, received an 'A' grade in the Ministry of the Interior and Safety’s comprehensive civil service evaluation, won the Prime Minister’s Award for the Hwasun Vaccine Industry Special Zone and was selected as an excellent local special zone, and the county nursing hospital was designated as the first dementia relief hospital by the Ministry of Health and Welfare in Jeollanam-do, sweeping top rankings in various evaluations.

There were also remarkable achievements reflecting Hwasun-gun’s determination to become a wealthy rural area.

The Hwasun-gun agricultural specialty product shopping mall, "Hwasun Farm," is setting a new record with sales increasing 16 times compared to the annual sales of 50 million KRW in 2021.

With explosive sales performance this year, surpassing 800 million KRW in early June and likely exceeding the target of 1 billion KRW, it has become a beacon of hope for producing farms.

This remarkable transformation of "Hwasun Farm" was mainly due to the expansion of resident companies and product items (from 35 locations / 171 items to over 100 locations / 300 items), and an increase in membership, but above all, the confidence of "We can do it too" and strong driving force were decisive.

Among policy projects, the nationwide attention-grabbing ▲"10,000 KRW Rental Housing" support project for youth and newlyweds recorded a 10:1 competition rate in the first round of recruitment (total 50 units) and finalized winners with an 8:1 lottery competition rate. Move-in is scheduled to begin on July 3.

Facing the risk of regional extinction due to population decline, Hwasun-gun prepared the "10,000 KRW Rental Housing" support project as a measure to attract population.

Promising to supply a total of 400 households over four years, the second round of recruitment (total 50 units) is scheduled to be announced at the end of August and move-in in October, with additional recruitment planned.

The nationwide first establishment of a dedicated ▲"Multicultural Team" for multicultural families also attracted public attention.

To help multicultural families settle stably, immigrants from Japan, Cambodia, the Philippines, Vietnam, and China were hired on a fixed-term basis to strengthen customized integrated services supporting multicultural families.

Other excellent policies receiving praise included the village doctor system and the support project for standing tables at senior centers, adopted as pledges of the 8th elected government to improve health and reduce economic burdens for vulnerable groups in medically underserved areas who have difficulty visiting medical institutions.

Regular morning meetings include 5-minute speeches by employees, and the "Hwasun County Administration News," participated in by employees, is also gaining attention as a fresh and lively program.

In the second year of the 8th elected government, the county plans to accelerate projects focusing on three major areas: culture and tourism, wealthy rural areas, and vaccines.

With policies to create a world heritage dolmen site park, establish tourism infrastructure by region, and make Hwasun a place where visitors want to come and stay, they are determined to realize the era of 5 million tourists.

The wealthy rural area creation project will also vigorously pursue policy development and support to achieve goals by developing agricultural export complexes, expanding cultivation of regionally specialized crops such as soybeans, blueberries, Shine Muscat grapes, tomatoes, and peaches, supporting young and retired farmers, assisting return-to-farm and rural settlers, and introducing foreign seasonal workers.

The vaccine industry, a new growth future project, plans to firmly establish a foundation for fostering it as an alternative industry responsible for Hwasun-gun’s future after the closure of the Hwasun mining site, through expanding the bio vaccine industry special zone, attracting vaccine-related institutions and companies, and attracting an advanced medical complex, thereby creating jobs.

During the "County Administration Empathy Dialogue with Journalists" session, reporters asked various questions covering the entire county administration, from the nationally notable 10,000 KRW rental housing and the establishment of the multicultural team policy to culture and tourism, agriculture, welfare, and the future vaccine industry, sincerely wishing for the development of Hwasun-gun on the 1st anniversary of the 8th elected government.

Governor Gu Bok-gyu said, "The 8th elected government of Hwasun-gun has faithfully implemented a total of 68 practical tasks across 7 major areas and 8 major promotion strategies, and will strive to create 'Hwasun, the number one tourism destination in Namdo where 5 million tourists stay and visit, and a self-sufficient city of 100,000 population,' focusing on the three major future projects of culture and tourism, wealthy rural areas, and vaccines."