Paju City: 7 Out of 10 Citizens Say "8th Elected Term Administration Is Doing Well"

Policies such as the opening of GTX-A, energy support funds, and expansion of Paju Pay receive high praise
66.9% give a positive evaluation of Paju City administration... Stable city management
Expansion of transportation infrastructure, livelihood recovery support funds, and increased issuance of Paju Pay ranked as top achievements

Seventy percent of citizens gave a positive evaluation of Paju City's administration as it marks the third year of the 8th elected term. In particular, policies that had a tangible impact on citizens received high marks, such as the expansion of transportation infrastructure including the opening of the GTX-A line and the extension of the Seohae Line, the provision of emergency energy living stabilization support funds?the first of its kind in the country?and the increase in the recharge limit and 10% incentive for Paju Pay, which was issued in the largest amount nationwide.

Seventy percent of citizens gave a positive evaluation of Paju City's administration marking the third year of the 8th elected term. Evaluation of Paju City administration. Provided by Paju City.

According to a citizen satisfaction survey commissioned by Paju City and conducted by the polling agency Global Research, 16.2% of respondents said the city administration was "doing very well," while 50.7% said it was "doing somewhat well," resulting in a total positive response rate of 66.9%. This figure far exceeds the negative response rate of 22.7%, which is the sum of those who answered "doing somewhat poorly" (18.0%) and "doing very poorly" (4.7%).

The main reasons for the positive evaluation were stable city administration (24.8%), city administration and policies being helpful to citizens' lives (18.5%), the direction of city administration and policy initiatives (15.8%), policy implementation capability and speed (13.7%), implementation of policies desired by the majority of citizens (13%), and communication and listening to citizens (13%).

In addition, when asked in a multiple-response format about the most successful initiatives during the three years of the 8th elected term, the expansion of transportation infrastructure?including the opening of the GTX-A line, the extension of the Seohae Line to Paju, and the promotion of the Tongil-ro Line?was cited by 49.6% of respondents, making it the most selected. This was followed by the provision of emergency energy living stabilization support funds and livelihood recovery support funds (39.6%), the increase in the recharge limit and 10% incentive for Paju Pay issued in the largest amount nationwide (35.2%), designation of candidate sites for Paju City Free Economic Zone (15.1%), and the promotion of the closure of red-light districts and support for the rehabilitation of victims of prostitution (14.6%).

In the area of improvement over the past three years (multiple responses allowed), transportation infrastructure was cited most frequently at 35.9%, followed by welfare and social safety nets at 25.6%, culture and tourism at 19.2%, environment, ecology, and energy at 18.4%, real estate and housing at 17.6%, and citizen communication at 15.7%.

Survey commissioned by Paju City on the reasons for positive evaluation of Paju City administration. Provided by Paju City

Furthermore, when asked whether citizens' opinions are well reflected in city administration, 61.3% responded positively ("doing very well" 13%, "doing somewhat well" 48.3%), which is about three times higher than the negative response rate of 22.6%. This was seen as evidence that Paju City's administration is being carried out with a citizen-centered approach.

Paju City Mayor Kim Kyoungil stated, "The high positive evaluation of Paju City's administration is the result of consistently implementing policies that citizens truly need and that reflect their opinions over the past three years, but above all, it is thanks to the great interest citizens have shown in the city's administration. Going forward, we will continue to carefully consider citizens' opinions and evaluations, listen even more attentively to citizens' voices through initiatives such as the Mobile Mayor's Office, and do our utmost to develop and implement policies that meet the interests and expectations of citizens and contribute to the development of Paju City."

This survey was conducted over three days from June 30 to July 2, targeting 700 men and women aged 18 or older residing in Paju City. The margin of sampling error is 95%, with a confidence level of ±3.7 percentage points.