Mayor Park Hyungdeok's "Cooperation and Communication" Transforms Crisis-Stricken Dongducheon into a "City of Opportunity"

Demonstrating Cooperative Leadership:
Resolving Real Estate Adjustment Area Issues
Strengthening Empathetic, Citizen-Participatory Administration
Through Field Engagement
Securing 136.8 Billion Won for Regional Balanced Development Projects
Customized Policies for Pregnancy, Childbirth, Youth, and Seniors
Receive Positive Response

Dongducheon City in Gyeonggi Province, which had been suffering from a triple crisis of population decline, economic recession, and delays in the return of U.S. military bases, has achieved a dramatic transformation into a "city of opportunity" since Mayor Park Hyungdeok took office.

Park Hyungdeok, mayor of Dongducheon, is holding a department head meeting to secure national and provincial funds. Provided by Dongducheon City

The urgent question that Mayor Park posed to himself immediately after the launch of the 8th local government term?"How can we save Dongducheon in crisis?"?was answered through four core strategies based on "cooperation" and "communication."

The lifting of the real estate adjustment area designation, which had deepened Dongducheon City's crisis, was the first symbolic achievement of Mayor Park Hyungdeok's "cooperation" leadership. Just two months after taking office in July 2022, he met with the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport twice and sent seven official requests for the lifting of the designation. Through these active efforts, Dongducheon City was able to escape the real estate adjustment area status.

In addition, the city promptly responded to the Korea Post's plan to downgrade Dongducheon Post Office's status last year, successfully maintaining its position. Dongducheon also secured national and provincial funds to establish a stable emergency medical system by confirming its status as a medically underserved area until December 2024, a status that was originally scheduled to be lifted in 2025. Furthermore, the city strengthened its wide-area cooperation system by adopting a joint agreement through meetings with four cities and counties connected by Pyeonghwa-ro and by issuing a joint declaration urging the establishment of a new medical school in northern Gyeonggi Province.

Mayor Park Hyungdeok, based on his administrative philosophy that "communication happens not at the desk, but in the field," expanded touchpoints with citizens and strengthened "citizen-participatory, empathetic administration." Every year, he began the New Year with dialogues with citizens and personally visited all eight administrative welfare centers to listen to citizens' voices firsthand.

In particular, through the initiative "On-site Response: The Mayor Visits Citizens," 282 citizen opinions were heard and resolved one-on-one over the past three years. Through "Wise Civil Consultation with the Mayor" and the "Direct Text Service to the Mayor," about 2,000 civil complaints received sincere responses. By operating various communication channels such as the "Direct Text Service to the Mayor" and the "Open Civil Complaint Box," the city actively reflected citizen opinions in its budget and policies, leading to practical problem-solving.

Securing financial resources has also been remarkable. Through strategic measures such as establishing a dedicated department for competitive projects and strengthening interdepartmental cooperation, Dongducheon City has secured 62.3 billion won in national and provincial funds and 136.8 billion won for regional balanced development projects since the launch of the 8th local government term. These funds have served as a driving force for major projects such as improving traditional market parking environments, creating a pet theme park, and designating a special education development zone.

Visual Review of the 3rd Anniversary of the 8th Local Government Term (Cooperation, Communication, Finance, Population). Provided by Dongducheon City

The city's population policy has also focused on customized support for each stage of life. Dongducheon encouraged new residents to settle by providing relocation incentives and housing support for university students and soldiers, and built a youth entrepreneurship ecosystem centered on the "Youth Startup Support Center," which opened in November 2023.

As part of housing stability measures, the city supplied public rental housing and established a family center, while introducing an interest support program for jeonse and monthly rent deposits to alleviate the actual housing cost burden. Dongducheon has also responded quickly to the aging society by creating a total of 3,000 jobs for seniors.

Mayor Park Hyungdeok stated, "Based on the philosophy that people change policies and policies change the city, over the past three years we have found answers in the lives of citizens, placed their voices at the center of city administration, and successfully established a culture of cooperation and communication." He added, "In the remaining year, Dongducheon City will continue to move forward unwaveringly toward becoming a 'people-centered city' and a 'future city where everyone wants to live' through deeper communication and action."