Six Local Governments Including Hanam and Namyangju
Submit Joint Proposal to Gyeonggi Province
Six local governments in the northeastern region of Gyeonggi Province-Hanam City (Mayor Lee Hyunjae), Gapyeong County, Gwangju City, Guri City, Namyangju City, and Yangpyeong County-have officially launched a joint initiative to transform waterfront areas, which have long been subject to regulation and sacrifice, into spaces of opportunity and mutual growth.
On December 22, Hanam City and the other five municipalities announced that they had submitted a joint proposal to Gyeonggi Province, requesting policy cooperation and support for the creation of eco-friendly waterfront tourism hubs. They also formally requested a meeting with the governor of Gyeonggi Province to discuss solutions to regional issues and strategies for balanced development.
In May, the six local governments established the “Northeastern Gyeonggi Eco-Friendly Waterfront Tourism Cooperation Council” (hereinafter referred to as the Council). Since then, they have worked together to resolve long-standing shared challenges and promote regional cooperation by developing eco-friendly waterfront tourism hubs along the Bukhan River and Paldang Lake (Dam), in connection with the Han River water system.
This joint proposal marks the Council’s first coordinated response and aims to expand cooperative governance for addressing tourism and regulatory issues. The proposal calls for: ▲ inclusion of key projects in higher-level plans, ▲ institutional support for forming a tourism zone, and ▲ joint action to improve regulations. It requests multifaceted cooperation and support from Gyeonggi Province to establish eco-friendly waterfront tourism hubs.
The Council particularly emphasized that there are limits to what individual cities and counties can achieve due to current structural and institutional constraints. As a result, the core of the joint proposal is to seek broad-based, regional cooperation, coordination, and support by linking with Gyeonggi Province’s ongoing policies such as “Northern Gyeonggi Grand Development 2040” and “Eastern and Western Gyeonggi SOC Development,” which are relevant to the northeastern region.
Additionally, following President Lee Jaemyung’s remarks at the Northern Gyeonggi Town Hall Meeting on November 14 regarding the “special sacrifice” and “special exclusion” faced by the region, as well as the difficulties experienced in areas subject to water source regulations, there is growing public consensus on the need to rationalize regulations and develop new growth strategies. The municipalities expect Gyeonggi Province to play a pivotal role in coordinating with the central government and facilitating cooperation among local governments.
Mayor Lee Hyunjae stated, “Hanam City is facing challenges in advancing development projects, such as the K-Culture Complex (K-Star World) site, which is located along the Han River and is subject to waterfront-level regulations. Through this joint proposal, I hope that the northeastern region of Gyeonggi, which has long been constrained by overlapping regulations in the name of environmental protection, can be reborn as a new growth hub, with Gyeonggi Province and the six local governments working together as one.”
Going forward, the Council plans to continue joint responses and mutual cooperation for the “Northeastern Gyeonggi Eco-Friendly Waterfront Tourism Hub Development” by: ▲ conducting joint research to establish basic concepts and implementation strategies, ▲ submitting joint proposals to the government and National Assembly for inclusion in national projects and higher-level plans, and ▲ expanding public-private cooperative governance.
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