Shin Sangjin Marks Third Year as Seongnam Mayor: On-Site Visits and Performance Review
Neglected Mulbit Garden and Auto Camping Site Reborn as Urban Retreats
Memorial Tower Relocated to City Hall Park, Bringing Patriotism into Daily Life
Attracting Science High School and Building AI Education Infrastructure: Seongnam as a Cradle for Future Talent
On July 7, Seongnam Mayor Shin Sangjin stated, "The past three years have been a period during which Seongnam City has focused on fundamentally transforming the city and making tangible changes to citizens' daily lives, based on the administrative philosophies of 'fairness' and 'innovation.' He added, "Until the very end of my term, I will remain true to my original intentions and calmly yet vigorously prepare for Seongnam's future with highly refined policies."
Seong Sangjin, mayor of Seongnam City, visited Tancheon Footbridge on the 5th for an on-site inspection. Photo by Seongnam City
Marking the third anniversary of his inauguration this year, Mayor Shin chose to forgo a large-scale press conference. Instead, he has been visiting sites in person to communicate with citizens and meticulously review the achievements and challenges of key policies one by one.
He also emphasized that out of 148 pledged projects for the 8th popularly elected administration, 88 have been completed, achieving a high implementation rate of 84.4%, thereby responsibly fulfilling promises made to citizens.
Mayor Shin stressed, "After three years of transformation, it is now time to move toward completion. Together with the citizens, I will ensure the realization of a complete Seongnam, where cutting-edge technology, inclusive welfare, residential stability, and convenient transportation are harmoniously integrated."
In particular, on June 13, the site of the former sewage treatment plant in Gumi-dong, which had been closed for 28 years, was newly opened as the 'Seongnam Mulbit Garden,' a complex cultural space for citizens. To commemorate the opening, the "Geumnanse's Midsummer Night Concert" was held on July 5, where enchanting music filled the hot summer night.
The Gumi-dong site (29,041 square meters) now features the Dumulgil walking trail, and in August, a music hall and cafe will also open. A space that had long been a site of conflict and neglect is being reborn as a symbol of recovery and regeneration.
The site in Yuldong Park, which had been left as illegal farmland, has been transformed into the "Yuldong Park Auto Camping Site." Designed with careful attention to various lifestyles?including two family sites, pet-friendly sites, and tent-only sites?the 96-site camping ground recorded a competition rate of 270 to 1 for the first reservation, establishing itself as a leading urban leisure destination. The children's playground and forest experience area are providing children with opportunities to learn in nature.
To enhance citizens' relaxation and daily convenience, Seongnam City has newly installed 1,500 street trash bins and 552 base waste disposal facilities, and has placed over 3,000 benches in parks and along streets to create an environment where people can pause and rest in their daily lives.
Last year, the Barefoot Red Clay Trail, visited by about 600,000 people, became a health hotspot, while Tancheon, restored to first-grade water quality, has become both a space for sports and relaxation and an ecological haven where endangered otters have returned.
The "Reading Plaza Library" is being developed as a hub for reading culture where knowledge and relaxation coexist, with 12 locations now open throughout the city. In addition, the Sunae Library opened last month, and a new public library in Daejang District is scheduled for completion in July next year.
Furthermore, Seongnam was the first in the country to implement support for out-of-pocket costs for dementia differential diagnosis tests. The city has now abolished all income and age requirements, expanding the benefit to all citizens so that more people can receive early testing.
Seongnam Mayor Shin Sangjin is giving a greeting at the first citizen-invited concert "Geumnanse's Midsummer Night Concert" held on the afternoon of the 5th at Seongnam Mulbit Garden. Provided by Seongnam City
Seongnam was also the first in Gyeonggi Province to provide free influenza vaccinations to all citizens, which increased the vaccination rate by 13.2 percentage points (12.9 percentage points for those aged 14 to 64), thereby contributing to improved immunity among residents.
After extensive efforts, including collecting signatures from over 90,000 citizens, Seongnam succeeded in attracting a "future-oriented science high school." The plan is to convert Bundang Jungang High School into a science high school, with the goal of opening in March 2027. The city has officially requested the Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education to grant a 40% admission priority to Seongnam students.
Educational and research infrastructure to drive innovation in AI and semiconductor technology is also rapidly being established. The "Sungkyunkwan University Bundang Campus Fabless AI Seongnam Research Center" has already opened, and the Sogang-Pangyo Digital Innovation Campus will open this month. The KAIST AI education and research facility is scheduled to begin construction in November. Seongnam is quickly emerging as a city where education, research, and industry are organically connected.
The Memorial Tower, previously located in Taepyeong-dong, has been relocated to City Hall Park, creating an open space where all citizens can honor the sacrifices of patriots in their daily lives. Near City Hall, construction of a new Veterans Hall is scheduled to begin in November this year, and with the newly established "Patriots' Path," Seongnam is solidifying its status as a symbolic city of patriotism and national merit.
Seongnam City is innovating the framework of urban renewal projects by allowing residents to directly design projects in collaboration with the administration.
Bundang, the largest among the first-generation new towns with 12,000 households slated for redevelopment, has completed the preliminary designation of project operators for Mokryeon Village following the Hyundai Woosung pilot complex. Regarding the selection method for redevelopment zones in Bundang New Town, after gathering opinions from resident representatives and experts and conducting surveys in stages, the city plans to proceed with the "proposal-based system," which is preferred by the majority. Seongnam will work closely with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to thoroughly secure sufficient relocation space in advance.
In Sujeong and Jungwon, the original downtown areas, the "living area plan" redevelopment method?where residents propose areas in need of renewal within their living zones?is becoming established. From the second half of this year, the city will begin establishing redevelopment plans and designating zones to gradually improve residential conditions in aging urban areas.
As a result of ongoing consultations with the Ministry of National Defense, Seongnam City has received an official response agreeing to partially accept adjustments to the "flight safety zone" around Seoul Airport.
This adjustment, which had been delayed for a long time, is a meaningful achievement as it resolves the pending issue of realigning the flight safety zone to match the changed runway angle caused by the construction of Lotte Tower in 2013. The city has been in discussions since 2023 and formally submitted the matter to the "Gyeonggi Province-Ministry of National Defense Win-Win Cooperation Council" in March this year. Operational reviews and deliberations are currently underway.
Once the adjustment is finalized, part of the Flight Safety Zone 2 in Yatap and Imae-dong will be changed to Zone 6, raising the building height restrictions. Nine complexes, including Areum Village, Tap Village, and Imae Village, are expected to benefit, giving momentum to reconstruction projects in those areas.
Seongnam Mayor Shin Sangjin is inspecting the trash bins installed on the streets on June 27. Provided by Seongnam City
To foster a city culture that encourages marriage and childbirth, Seongnam has been operating the youth-oriented matchmaking project "Solomon's Choice" for three consecutive years.
In addition, the city is pursuing projects such as the "Ori Station Area 4th Technovalley," the construction of the "POSCO Global Center" (tentative name), the modernization of Seongho Market, and the remodeling of the baseball-only stadium.
Mayor Shin Sangjin emphasized, "Seongnam now stands on the threshold of completion while also embarking on a new leap forward. We will steadfastly move toward becoming a world-class city."
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