Pocheon City Breaks Tradition and Resolves Citizen Inconveniences with Execution-Oriented Proactive Administration

Pocheon City Accelerates Proactive Administration through Empathy and Communication Meetings
81% of Resident Suggestions Addressed... Lowering Administrative Barriers with Department Head Responsibility System

Pocheon City in Gyeonggi Province has been actively responding to local inconveniences and regional issues raised by residents through Empathy and Communication Meetings, which have been held across 14 towns and townships since the 8th. The city is connecting on-site suggestions to institutional improvements and implementation through proactive administration.

Baek Younghyun, Mayor of Pocheon, has been conducting empathy and communication meetings while touring 14 towns and townships since the 8th. Provided by Pocheon City

This round of meetings focused on discussing local issues with residents and sharing and reviewing suggestions on-site to quickly present solutions.

In particular, this meeting adopted a department head responsibility system, where each department head attended the meeting in person and provided immediate responses and follow-up plans to residents' suggestions. By delegating authority and responsibility to the field, Pocheon City avoided administration that remains only at the review stage and strengthened proactive, execution-oriented governance.

Suggestions received through the Empathy and Communication Meetings are being reviewed through a collaborative process involving all relevant departments, rather than a single department. This approach aims to derive more practical and feasible alternatives, reduce similar and overlapping projects to increase administrative efficiency, and at the same time achieve budget savings.

Baek Younghyun, Mayor of Pocheon, has been conducting empathy and communication meetings while touring 14 towns and townships since the 8th. Provided by Pocheon City

One major example of proactive administration is the ongoing review of guidelines that would allow the use of previously obtained land use consents for road repaving projects, addressing the repeated inconvenience of acquiring such consents during each project. The city is also considering integrating the currently project-specific land use consents into a unified process to streamline administrative procedures.

Additionally, for areas such as Wangsucheon in Naechon-myeon and roads near the sabang dam, which were damaged by last year's heavy rainfall, the city is prioritizing citizen safety and expediting restoration work to ensure completion before the rainy season, in response to residents' concerns.

Furthermore, Pocheon City is increasing administrative flexibility by considering a variety of alternatives for regions in need of cultural facilities, such as creating cultural sharing spaces by utilizing unused spaces like closed schools, instead of limiting options to new construction. The city is moving away from rigid approaches and pursuing practical solutions tailored to local conditions and citizen demand.

A citizen is presenting a suggestion at the Empathy and Communication Meeting held by Pocheon City, which toured 14 towns and townships from the 8th. Provided by Pocheon City

Since 2022, Pocheon City has regularized Empathy and Communication Meetings at the town and township level, receiving a total of 850 resident suggestions to date. Of these, 686 cases (81%) have been completed or are in progress. Suggestions requiring long-term review account for 51 cases (6%), those referred to higher or external agencies for 58 cases (7%), and those deemed difficult to implement for 55 cases (6%), demonstrating that many resident inconveniences are being effectively addressed.

A Pocheon City official stated, "The approach of having department heads respond directly and take responsibility for resolving residents' inconveniences on-site has received a positive response from citizens," adding, "We will continue to strengthen proactive administration that judges and resolves issues based on citizen inconvenience, rather than passive administration bound by regulations."