| Title | Cheongju Municipal Administration Achieves ‘Triple Crown’ 3 Years into 6th Term of Popular Vote |
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| Writer | Planning Team, Policy Planning Division |
| Subject |
- Record-breaking Achievements by Municipal Administration, Including KRW 20.5 Trillion in Investment Attraction -
Cheongju-si, Chungcheongbuk-do (Mayor Lee Sung Hun) was acknowledged for its outstanding capabilities in all fields of the municipal administration, including economy, welfare, culture, and agricultural administration, during the 3rd year of its 6th term of popular vote with its record-breaking achievements. The excellence and competitiveness of the municipal administration was certified with its accomplishments, which included the largest amount of investment attraction and national expenditure secured ever, the registration of the first 3,000 factories, local corporate income taxes that reached KRW 100 billion, and opening an era of KRW 2 trillion in main budget. For its accomplishments, the municipal administration received 67 commendations from organizations in various nationwide evaluations, including being ranked 1st in the Korea Local-autonomy Competitiveness Indices and ranked 1st in cities for the Local Government Productivity Award. For his efforts in establishing Integrated Cheongju in July 1, 2014, Cheongju Mayor Lee Sung Hun was commended for creating a role model for the integration of autonomous bodies that developed the economic scale and expanded high-level cultural projects and citizen welfare based on harmony between citizens and stable integration of cities and counties. □ Changes in Scale in 3 Years of 6th Term of Popular Vote Despite the population decrease brought about by low birthrates and aging causing social issues throughout the nation, Cheongju’s population has grown from 838,742 (sum of populations of former Cheongju and Cheongwon) before integration to 848,045 now, thanks to improvement of settlement conditions and a wide range of childbirth encouragement policies. This makes Cheongju-si the 7th largest among the 226 local autonomous bodies in the country, and with the exception of the 5 metropolitan areas, its population is second only to that of Changwon-si. Cheongju-si’s financial scale of KRW 2.719 trillion (based on the main budget of 2017) is the 4th largest among the country’s local autonomous bodies, surpassed only by Changwon-si, Seongnam-si, and Suwon-si, and was analyzed to be leading the lifestyle of the city through increase in tax revenues as a result of securing national expenditures and attracting investments of over KRW 500 billion annually. In particular, Mayor Lee’s company-friendly policies and success in attracting KRW 20.5 trillion in investments will allow the city’s financial scale to continue growing. ▶ Growing the Economic Scale by Creating a Company-friendly City * Exceeded Goal of Investment Attraction KRW 10 Trillion during 6th Term of Popular Vote → KRW 20,496 Billion from 141 Companies * Major Changes to Industrial Map of Cheongju, Including Attraction of Cheongju Urban High-tech Industrial Complex * Raised Company Sensitivity with Company-friendly Policies, Including Reduction of Company Registration Processing Time Having carried out various company-friendly policies such as honorable treatment of company workers, alleviation of business regulations, and various policies to support companies under the municipal administration’s goal of ‘Number 1 Economy, Top Cheongju’, Cheongju Mayor Lee Sung Hun is considered to have endeavored to develop the economic scale of Cheongju-si. Mayor Lee exceeded the initial goal of KRW 10 trillion in investment attractions for the 6th term by attracting KRW 20,496.6 billion in investments from 141 companies, including SK Hynix and LG Household & Health Care, which is expected to create jobs for 14,703 people. This can be traced back to efforts to create a suitable city for companies in the 6th term of popular vote through the stable securement of investment attraction promotion funds, reduction of time required to establish companies by improving the one-stop civil affairs process, company management consulting and support for the expansion of markets, support for interest preservation of management stabilization funds, etc. At the end of the previous year, analysis of the civil affair processing time for registering factories and receiving approval to establish factories revealed that the reduction rate of the civil affair processing period had been reduced by 50.26% in comparison to the legal processing period. This is a 5.06%p rise from the 35.2% of 2015 (based on late December). Additionally, the city cooperated with banks to provide KRW 138.9 billion in small and medium business growth funds to 465 regional companies having difficulties with financing, and preserved KRW 21.1 billion of interest over 3 years in order to help stability the management of small and medium businesses. The city also enacted municipal ordinances regarding honorable treatment for company workers and support for company activities in 2014 and held Entrepreneur Day, fostered promising small and medium businesses, and strove to resolve the difficulties of companies and alleviate company regulations. As a result, it received a grade of S as a company-friendly city, the highest grade possible. Cheongju-si was also selected as an autonomous body with excellence in revitalization projects effective promotion in cooperation with labor and management civil affairs in 2016 for its construction of a new secretariat in March of last year for the private sector-led labor and management civil affairs project in March and the creation of an atmosphere to harmonize labor and management. In particular, the city has succeeded in laying the foundation for economic growth by selecting the Cheongju industrial complex competitiveness enhancement project, a state policy project for economic growth, attracting Cheongju urban high-tech industrial complex, and expanding industrial complexes, such as the CheongjuTechnopolis, which aims for continuous company attraction and strengthening of industrial locations. Additionally, the city has sought to resolve the imbalance of jobs and the mismatch between job search and recruitment by opening a job-centered hub center, expanding the operation of a woman’s development center, creating jobs for the elderly, and holding youth job fair, for the stable supply and demand of labor and the securement of company-customized excellent manpower. Such efforts have allowed the city to exceed its initial yearly job creation goals, leading to it being selected for excellence in creation of jobs for the elderly, as well being the only autonomous body to overcome the competitive hurdles of the 207 autonomous bodies and companies in the nation to win the grand prize in the 2016 Korea Senior Industry Awards. As a result, among the 7 cities with a population of at least 800,000, such as Suwon-si, Bucheon-si, Changwon-si, and Yongin-si, Cheongju-si is increasing its performance in various economic indicators, boasting the highest employment rate, the lowest unemployment rate, and the highest participation rate in economic activities. ▶ 365 Days at 36.5℃, Raising Citizen Sensation of Welfare * Resolution of Welfare Blind Spots through Public-Private Cooperation Network * Creation of an Ideal City to Have and Raise Children * Raising Citizen Sensation of Welfare, Including Support for Self-reliance for Socially Disadvantaged Classes In order to ensure that all citizens could lead decent lives as human beings, 36.33% of the entire budget was allocated to social welfare to enhance the customized living welfare functions. Among the major cities in Korea with a population of over 800,000, this was the highest welfare budget per person and per household. The city strove to provide the highest standard of welfare service in the country, such as by providing livelihood support for low-income brackets and expanding the support for self-reliance for the socially advantage, such as women, the elderly, and the handicapped. In order to actively deal with the social issues arising from low birthrates and aging, the city organized a task force for increasing the population and prepared related measures as a part of its accelerated attempts to enhance welfare for the elderly and become a suitable city to have and raise children in. First, the city helped resolve childcare difficulties of double-income families by operating 24 hours daycare centers, increasing the number of childcare facilities running on holidays and day and night from 158 locations to 188 locations, and reducing childcare costs by providing the parent’s portion of childcare expense for the daycare center. The city also strengthened vocational education and training for career-interrupted women, such as by providing incubating support for startups by women with little capital, and expanded the operation of the woman’s development center in order to create a society where jobs and families could coexist. Furthermore, the city is steadily creating high quality jobs for the elderly to actively respond to social issues arising from the increase in elderly population. Focused development of elderly-friendly companies, a pledged project of the 6th term of popular vote, led to the city being chosen 3 years in a row for its elderly-friendly companies, making it the first in the country to achieve such a thing. The city was also selected as the 2016 Outstanding Elderly Job Creation Organization for its creation of self-reliant jobs for the elderly, such as support for the social activities of the elderly in the form of startups. In particular, the city is operating the 365! Do-Dream Integrated Welfare Portal, carried out the welfare hub project for consumer-oriented –eup, -myeon, and –dong, and provided urgent support for critical households suffering from legal limitations as a part of its efforts to form a social safety net without any blind spots. ▶ Raising the City’s Brand as a Life Culture City * Selected as 2015 Culture City of East Asia Cheong Ju * Only Autonomous Body South of the Capital Regions to Attract the Construction of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Cheongju Branch * Expansion of Cultural and Sports-based Facilities with Establishment of Cheongju Museum of Art and Formation of Oksan Sports Park Along with its establishment of the integrated city, Cheongju-si is seen as having ushered in a golden age of new culture by expanding its cultural infrastructure and actively carrying out high level cultural projects in line with its slogan of ‘Cheongju, a Life Culture City.’ At the Korea-China-Japan Cultural Minsters Meeting held in Yokohama, Japan on November 20, 2014, Korea’s Cheongju-si was chosen alongside China’s Qingdao and Japan’s Niigata as the 2015 Culture City of East Asia. Accordingly, the city appointed former Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Lee O-young as the honorary chairman of the organizing committee and held numerous cultural arts events that were acclaimed by the citizens of officials, such as the Chopsticks Festival and Korea-China-Japan cultural exchanges. As efforts to continuously carry out the Culture City of East Asia projects, the city attracted the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Cheongju Branch, established the Cheongju Museum of Art, and formed a cultural art community at the former cigarette manufacturing facility as part of its measures to expand its foundation of cultural enjoyment. The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Cheongju Branch will be established as a 5-story building at a former cigarette manufacturing facility, making it the only cultural facility to enter a region outside of a capital region, and is expected to energize the local economy greatly by creating jobs and attracting visitors. Additionally, the city’s class was raised with the construction of various leisure culture facilities meant to improve the leisure life of the citizens and revitalize sports for all, such as the Okhwa Natural Forest Citizen’s Leisure Campground, Oksan Sports Park, a sports center for the disabled, and modern pentathlon training grounds. These efforts have resulted in Cheongju-si owning 40 culture-based facilities and 703 public sports facilities, the most owned among the 7 cities in Korea with a population of at least 800,000, and raising the quality of life for its citizens. ▶ Creating a Safety City Where Citizens Can Live Without Worries * Establishment of the Nation’s First Crime Preventing Through Environmental Design (CPTED) Plan * Expansion and Relocation of CCTV Integrated Control Center, Including Intelligent Surveillance System * Opening of Cheongju 365 Civil Complaint Call Center to Resolve Daily Civil Complaints and Citizen Inconveniences * Provision of Safe Return Cheongju-si Safety Protector Service In order to create an environment that ensured safety for citizens anywhere and anytime, the city enacted an ordinance for the Cheongju-si Crime Preventing Through Environmental Design (CPTED) in November 2015, and established a comprehensive plan to become the first city in the nation to implement a citywide CPTED. Additionally, the city expanded and relocated the integrated control center, which protects the safety of the citizens by integrating and controlling 3,018 CCTVs 24 hours a day, and laid the foundation for an everyday safety system by cooperating in connection with related organizations such as fire stations and police stations. In particular, the city opened the Cheongju 365 Civil Complaint Call Center in May of last year to hold consultations on civil complaints and resolve any inconveniences that citizens might be facing on the spot, and is realizing highly sensitive citizen-oriented administration by processing an average of over 1,130 inconveniences a day. Beyond that, the city has gone to great lengths to ensure the safety of the socially advantaged, such as women and children, with the installation of alarm bells in public bathrooms that detect screams, parcel services that women can trust, and the Cheongju-si safety protector service. Such efforts have succeeded in reducing the occurrence rate of the top 5 violent offenses by 10.5% from 2015 and increasing the arrest rate by 3.94%. ▶ Seeking Balanced Development through Establishment of Infrastructure for Major City with Population of 1 Million * Opening of an Age of Living Sphere, Entire Region of Cheongju-si within 30 Minutes through Opening of Bypass Road 3 from All Sides * Establishment of Province’s Largest Eco-friendly Agriculture Complex and Enhancement of Agricultural Competitiveness * Received LOHAS Certification for CheongwonSaengmyeong Rice 10 Years Running, a Nation First In order to establish a city infrastructure befitting a major city with a population of 1 million and lay the groundwork for the harmonious development of the city and farms, the city is striving to open traffic networks accessible from all directions and enhance the competitiveness of the agricultural industry. First, in order to accelerate regional development, the city opened Bypass Road 3 from all directions in August of last year, opening the age of living sphere in which every region of Cheongju can be reached in 30 minutes, and made efforts to expand the downtown highway system by opening the roads from Sangdang Park to Myeongam-ro and Gangseo Housing Site to Seokgok Junction. Additionally, the country roads and farming and fishing village roads were expanded and paved, and the roads connecting urban and rural regions were expanded, strengthening the traffic infrastructure of –eup and –myeon regions. This past May, a balanced development support ordinance was passed to ensure the balanced development of urban and rural roads, and KRW 100 billion in funds will be invested in –eup and –myeon regions over the next 5 years. In particular, since the establishment of the 6th term of popular vote, the city has done its best to realize money-making farming by enhancing the competitiveness of the agriculture industry, such as by increasing and organizing the agricultural budget every year, producing high quality agricultural products, supplying farming technology, and expanding markets. The city realized the province’s largest eco-friendly farming by creating eco-friendly agriculture complexes and expanding the certification of eco-friendly agricultural products, and supported the nation’s greatest agricultural machinery rental project for advanced farmers and small-income farmers. These efforts have created a synergy effect in enhancing the income of farms and leading to the Cheongwon brand’s quality and competitiveness being acknowledged overseas, with CheongwonSaengmyeong Rice receiving LOHAS certification for 10 years running, making it the first in the nation to do so, and being selected as the Brand-name Rice of Korea 2016. Beyond that, the city pioneered foreign markets in the US, China, etc. to create even more agricultural income, and promoted the stable consumption of the excellent agricultural and livestock products produced in the region by establishing direct markets for local foods and implementing eco-friendly lunches for all schools within its jurisdiction from all fronts. Cheongju Mayor Lee Sung Hun said, “As I took office as the first mayor of Integrated Cheongju, my greatest goal was harmony between residents and preparing the grounds for stable development”, and noted, “I will do my best with the 3,500 public officials of Cheongju-si to take a larger step forward based on the valuable accomplishments we attained through the efforts of all 850,000 citizens of Cheongju-si.” ▶ Inquiry: Planning Team, Policy Planning Division (☎043-201-1213) |
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| 이전글 | Okhwa National Forest Opens Water Park |
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