Goyang Mayor Candidate Donghwan Lee Vows to Strongly Push Organizational Restructuring Blocked by Democratic Party If Re-elected

Improving Personnel Management and Working Conditions,
Splitting Deogyang-gu and Transitioning to a Four-District Office System
Establishing a Third Deputy Mayor (AI Deputy Mayor) and Expanding Divisions by 1.5 Times
Written Response Delivered to the Government Employees’ Union Expressing Commitment to Organizational Restructuring and Resolving Promotion Bottlenecks

On May 26, Donghwan Lee, the People Power Party candidate for Mayor of Goyang, delivered a written response to policy questions raised by the Goyang City Government Employees' Union (Chairman Lee Jongmoon), addressing key issues in the public sector including organizational restructuring and resolving promotion bottlenecks.

Officials from the Goyang City Public Officials Labor Union held an "Organizational Restructuring Opinion Gathering Meeting" in 2025, directly listening to the voices of low-tenure employees. Photo provided by candidate Dong-hwan Lee

Previously, the second organizational restructuring plan launched after Mayor Lee took office failed to pass the city council five times due to opposition from the Democratic Party, which holds the majority. This provoked outrage among public officials. In July 2025, the union also issued a critical statement, pointing out that among the four special cities in Gyeonggi Province, only Goyang managed a single expansion of one bureau and three divisions during the 8th popularly elected administration in 2023.

Suwon expanded by 2 bureaus and 7 divisions through four restructurings, Yongin by 5 bureaus and 13 divisions through five restructurings, and Hwaseong by 2 bureaus and 10 divisions through six restructurings.

As a result, the number of employees experiencing promotion stagnation has reached around 400, and the average time required for promotion among public officials has become fixed at over four years—roughly three times longer than that of Yongin City (1 year and 6 months), according to the union.

In his written response, Lee Donghwan expressed a strong commitment to comprehensive organizational innovation to address these issues.

First, he announced that immediately upon starting his second term, he would vigorously re-pursue the organizational restructuring that had been blocked by the Democratic Party’s opposition. To respond to the expected surge in administrative demand following the development of Changneung Phase 3 New Town and the designation as a Free Economic Zone, he plans to establish dedicated bureaus and divisions. He also intends to accelerate improvements to personnel management and the working environment—long-standing goals within the public sector.

In particular, Lee pledged to promptly promote more than 200 employees whose promotions had been delayed, and to significantly expand the quota for seniority-based promotions. He also outlined a plan to institutionalize additional promotion points and performance bonuses for employees in high-stress or unpopular departments, thereby establishing a fair personnel system that rewards staff commensurately for their work.

To provide efficient administrative services to the residents of Deogyang-gu, whose population has surpassed 500,000, he also plans to renew efforts to split Deogyang-gu and implement a four-district office system. Lee emphasized that splitting Deogyang-gu is a critical task—not only to streamline and simplify administrative services, but also to resolve long-standing issues of promotion bottlenecks and work overload among public officials.

Furthermore, to prepare for Goyang’s transformation into an AI-driven economic city, he plans to establish a third Deputy Mayor (AI Deputy Mayor) to lead digital administrative innovation based on artificial intelligence. He also aims to proactively address future advanced industries and the rapidly changing global market demands that will arise from the designation as a Free Economic Zone.

In line with the creation of the third Deputy Mayor position, he announced plans to expand the scale of divisions by 1.5 times compared to the current level, thereby strengthening the professionalism and citizen- and business-first focus of the administration.

Lee Donghwan stated, "I will provide clear incentives—including additional promotion points and performance bonuses—to employees who quietly dedicate themselves in high-stress or unpopular departments," and emphasized, "I will establish a fair public sector culture where staff are rewarded according to the work they perform."

He also expressed his deep gratitude to the more than 3,500 public officials, regretting that he was not able to spend more time with them during his tenure. He appealed to voters, saying, "If I am re-elected, please support the People Power Party’s Goyang City Council candidates so that the organizational restructuring plan can be swiftly passed."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.