[Interview] Choi Won-cheol, Mayor of Gongju City, "Focusing Efforts on Creating a Region Where Citizens Are Happy"

"Efforts to Become a Mayor Communicating with Citizens on the Ground Over the Past 2 Years"
"Relentlessly Striving for Tangible Changes and Leaps That Citizens Can Feel"

Choi Won-cheol, Mayor of Gongju City

The 8th term of Gongju City administration, committed to creating a city where all citizens are happy, has now reached its 2-year mark since inauguration. Mayor Choi Won-cheol believes that to increase the happiness index of citizens, Gongju must be built into a stronger city, and he is embedding this conviction throughout the administration. On the occasion of the 2nd anniversary of his inauguration, marking the halfway point of the 8th term, we spoke with Mayor Choi Won-cheol about the achievements so far and the blueprint for the second half.

- Reflections on the 2 years since the start of the 8th term

▲ Over the past two years, we have worked tirelessly to fulfill the promise of creating a ‘Strong Gongju.’ We focused administrative efforts on building a more solid Gongju by leveraging our strengths: deep history, ecological nature, and humanistic assets. This is to realize the fundamental philosophy of Gongju’s administration?‘citizen happiness.’ We have taken steady steps toward the changes citizens desire and the development they want for Gongju. Especially since policies must be pursued from the perspective of the citizens as consumers, I have always strived to be a mayor who communicates directly with citizens on the ground. I will do my utmost so that citizens can feel Gongju’s positive changes firsthand and live with pride.

- Efforts to enhance Gongju as the Baekje royal capital stand out

▲ Gongju is a historical and cultural tourism city where the past and present, tradition and modernity harmonize. All three UNESCO World Heritage sites?Gongsanseong Fortress, King Muryeong’s Tomb, and Magoksa Temple?are related to Baekje. The future of Gongju’s tourism industry is inseparable from ‘Baekje.’ Therefore, to secure the future of Gongju’s tourism, we will create the ‘Ungjin Baekje Cultural Village,’ which embodies the spirit of Baekje and Gongju’s identity. From 2026 to 2030, we will invest 36.4 billion KRW to build various infrastructures befitting the image of Baekje’s royal capital, including a Baekje royal capital lifestyle experience village, a traditional market startup support zone, and a royal culture stay facility. We will also establish the Baekje Culture Staycation, which consolidates Baekje’s history and culture through performances, exhibitions, and experiences. The groundbreaking took place last April, with completion scheduled for the end of next year. We will develop distinctive programs that allow visitors to experience Baekje’s history, culture, and arts through all five senses. Furthermore, we plan to build a 1,000-household Hanok village where visitors can see, feel, and stay immersed in ‘Baekje-ness.’ To this end, we are currently developing a standard Hanok model reflecting Baekje aesthetics in collaboration with Chungcheongnam-do. We will pool our capabilities to make Gongju a world-class historical and cultural city and the cultural capital of the central region.

- Successfully hosting major events

▲ Last year, we held the Grand Baekje Festival to commemorate the 1,500th anniversary of King Muryeong’s death and King Seong’s ascension, re-examining the brilliant history and culture of Baekje. After more than a year of preparation, the event attracted 1.8 million visitors and generated a regional economic ripple effect of 58 billion KRW, achieving record-breaking results. This year marks the 70th festival, and we will thoroughly prepare to widely promote the splendid spirit and status of Baekje and pursue more innovative development. In January, we hosted the first-ever ‘Korea Chestnut Expo’ nationwide. Held in conjunction with the winter chestnut festival, it attracted 130,000 visitors to Gongju, the hometown of chestnuts, significantly enhancing the Gongju chestnut brand value. Starting with this expo, we plan to develop it into an international chestnut expo by 2028. We will strengthen the foundation to promote both the domestic chestnut industry and regional economic revitalization.

- Blueprint for branding the Geumgang River

▲ Please look forward to changes along the Geumgang riverside, which is most frequently used by citizens. The Geumgang Shingwan Park and Ssangsin-dong area will be developed into citizen-friendly spaces such as a citizen plaza and a comprehensive water playground. We signed an agreement with the Geumgang Watershed Environmental Office to develop the Pyeongmok-ri area in Useong-myeon into a multifunctional waterfront ecological belt by 2027. The Eoeon and Jukdang districts along the Geumgang River are planned to be developed into a national garden. The design budget for the Jukdang-ri Land Art Park project, which will serve as a catalyst, was included in this year’s government budget, securing momentum for the project. We are also planning to restore the Geumgang waterway by reviving the traditional yellow sailboats that operated along the Geumgang from the late Joseon period until before the construction of the Geumgang Railway Bridge in 1933. We will create docks and rest areas between Gongju Dam and Sejong Dam, operate yellow sailboats and amphibious buses, and secure new growth engines for regional tourism. The long-awaited construction of the 2nd Geumgang Bridge, a historic milestone for Gongju citizens, broke ground last year. This achievement came after seven years of efforts, including changes in cultural heritage status and approval from the UNESCO World Heritage Center. We will ensure timely completion of the 2nd Geumgang Bridge through thorough process management to lead balanced development between the old and new downtown areas.

- Plans to establish new growth engines

▲ First, we will develop the Donghyeon District as a smart creative city. The plan is to create a public office site on approximately 130,000 square meters in Donghyeon-dong, adjacent to Sejong City. We have succeeded in attracting the first public institution to move in here. The Korea Food Safety Management Certification Institute, familiar as ‘HACCP,’ will relocate its headquarters here, and about 20,000 food industry workers are expected to visit Gongju annually for training. We plan to expand this district into a food safety cluster by attracting additional public institutions related to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, nurturing it as a hub for future regional advanced industries. The Seungseon-Donghyeon District urban development project, which will become a new axis for urban growth, is undergoing administrative procedures aiming for apartment construction and sales within this year. This is also in preparation for Sejong City’s expansion, and we will support the development of an eco-friendly and smart future apartment complex. We are also exploring the potential to grow into a 4th industrial revolution specialized city responsible for future food sources. Selected for the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s ‘2024 Drone Demonstration City Project,’ we will implement drone delivery services in logistics-vulnerable areas in the second half of this year. Gongju has the third-largest ultra-light flight zone in the country. Together with the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute, we will establish a testbed for developing and verifying real-time drone services, building a Gongju-style drone specialized city.

- Achievements in ‘living population policy’ to overcome population decline

▲ Population is the city’s competitiveness and future. We must turn the crisis of local extinction caused by population decline and regional imbalance into an opportunity for leap forward, focusing on the living population as the most effective measure. We actively utilize the nearby population of 4 million in Daejeon, Sejong, Cheonan, and Cheongju. The concrete policy to realize this is the ‘New 5 Provinces 2 Villages Project.’ By actively responding to internal and external changes and utilizing existing facilities and programs, increasing the living population is expected to have an effect comparable to population growth. As a result of expanding urban-rural exchanges in earnest, since the 8th term began, we have newly signed 19 sisterhood agreements with external regions such as Seoul, Asan, and Sejong, and conducted 79 exchange activities. Visitors to rural experience villages increased by as much as 57%. This year, we plan to implement comprehensive policies by investing 6.4 billion KRW from the local extinction response fund, including building a Gongju-style job platform, creating a rental smart farm complex, and operating the stay-type small farm Gongju-You.

- Efforts to revitalize the stagnant local economy

▲ Believing that ‘jobs are livelihood and the best welfare,’ we have focused on attracting companies and creating quality jobs. Since the 8th term began, we have attracted investments totaling 821.1 billion KRW from 59 companies. This was possible by significantly lowering barriers to corporate attraction, such as simplifying administrative procedures for various development activities and building permits and reducing review periods from two months to one month. We provide special support for card fees to small business owners and self-employed people, who are a solid pillar of the local economy. So far, 1,846 small business owners have benefited. We have also established a four-year plan outlining the economic blueprint for Gongju, and we will do our best to create 12,000 jobs and achieve a 68% employment rate by 2026.

- Customized education and senior welfare policies

▲ Gongju’s future depends on nurturing talent. First, we increased the scale of scholarship recipients from the Gongju City Hanmaeum Scholarship Foundation. This year, 924 students will receive a total of about 670 million KRW, an increase of about 40 students compared to last year. As part of practical free education, we provide support for tuition, school uniforms, and meal costs, and now fully cover the cost of sportswear for middle and high school students. Especially from this year, we offer overseas field trips for 3rd-year middle school students, supporting 740 students from 15 middle schools with 1.3 million KRW per student. We hope this will be a great opportunity for youth to expand their international perspectives and career worldviews by experiencing diverse domestic and international history and culture. A distinctive senior welfare policy in our city is the ‘Smart Senior Centers.’ This policy, first introduced in Chungcheongnam-do, has transformed 20 centers into smart senior centers since last year with an investment of 1 billion KRW. We have installed advanced equipment such as health measurement devices, two-way video conferencing systems, and smart farms to provide various services tailored to seniors’ needs. We plan to expand this to all 434 senior centers in the city by next year.

- Achievements and plans in agriculture

▲ Since the 8th term began, we have exported about 21,000 tons and 160 billion KRW worth of local agricultural specialties. We signed a business agreement with H-Mart, which has established itself in North America, exporting Gomanaru rice and Gongju chestnuts. To expand distribution channels, we have operated about 70 direct trade markets for agricultural specialties and run local food direct stores in large supermarkets and department stores. Furthermore, we will build a smart operational foundation across agricultural production and distribution to respond to changes in the future agricultural industry. To revitalize distribution of representative local agricultural products, we will establish an Agricultural Product Distribution Center (APC) with a smart distribution system by 2025. On 3.3 hectares in Jubong-ri, Iin-myeon, we will create a rental smart farm complex for young farmers. We will focus on enhancing the brand value of Gongju agricultural specialties by integrating production, distribution, and sales processes.

- Pledge fulfillment rate, a promise to citizens

▲ This year, we received the highest grade, ‘Excellent (SA),’ in the nationwide basic local government heads’ pledge implementation evaluation conducted by the Korea Manifesto Practice Headquarters. It is very meaningful and gratifying to be recognized as the local government head who best fulfilled promises to citizens. Concentrating all efforts to normally promote 76 pledge projects of the 8th term, the overall pledge fulfillment rate is currently 60%, with a goal of reaching 80% this year. To achieve tangible results that citizens can feel, we must spread proactive administration and inject innovation into organizational culture. Our city was also honored as an ‘Excellent Institution’ for two consecutive years in the innovation evaluation conducted by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety. We will continue to faithfully fulfill promises to citizens and strive to successfully complete pledges and pending projects.

- Future plans and determination

▲ We will push forward Gongju’s development more strongly and powerfully. We will devote all our capabilities to creating a region where citizens are happy and investing in Gongju’s new future. These goals can be realized faster when the will of the citizens is united. I ask for your continued interest and support in the second half of the 8th term, during which we will tirelessly strive to achieve definite changes and leaps that citizens can feel.