Yongin City Wins Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Award at the 2026 Republic of Korea Urban Awards

High Marks for Safety, Welfare, Employment, and Environment
Mayor Sang-il Lee: “We Will Improve Quality of Life for 1.11 Million Citizens”

Yongin Special City in Gyeonggi Province has received the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Award at the 2026 Republic of Korea Urban Awards in recognition of its achievements across all aspects of daily life, including citizen safety and welfare, employment, residential policy, environment, and urban regeneration.

Sang-il Lee, Mayor of Yongin Special City (third from the left), is taking a commemorative photo with attendees after receiving the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Award at the 2026 Korea Urban Awards on the 9th. Provided by Yongin City

Yongin City (Mayor Sang-il Lee) announced on the 10th that it was selected as an outstanding city in the indicator evaluation category at the Republic of Korea Urban Awards hosted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and organized by the Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements on the 9th.

The Republic of Korea Urban Awards evaluates the efforts and level of infrastructure of 229 basic local governments across the country toward sustainable development. This year, the assessment was based on 2025 performance, evaluating four sectors: urban society, urban economy, urban environment, and support systems.

Yongin City received consistently high scores across all four categories by implementing a broad range of policies closely linked to citizens' daily lives.

In the urban society category, initiatives such as providing citizen safety insurance, operating the ‘Safety Culture Salon’—which brings together agencies such as police, fire, and educational offices to discuss disaster and crime prevention measures—and senior healthcare services utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT) were highly rated. Policies aimed at supporting socially disadvantaged groups, including self-service fueling options for people with disabilities and the construction of a community center for people with disabilities, were also recognized as notable achievements.

The expansion of Yongin FC, the opening of ‘SERI PAK with Yongin’, the addition of park golf courses, and the hosting of the ‘Korea Joa-Yong Festival’ and the ‘Korea University Theater Festival’ were also acknowledged for broadening the city's cultural and sports foundation.

In the urban economy sector, the “Yongin Youth Housing Jump Project,” which supports youth settling in the area, employment projects for senior citizens such as senior laundromats, and support for pregnancy and childbirth, attracted particular attention. Corporate one-stop investment services and business environment improvement initiatives that supported corporate activities were also positively evaluated.

Within the urban environment sector, the establishment of the “Yongin City Parks and Green Spaces Master Plan 2035,” as well as the expansion of local green spaces and recreation areas—such as the perimeter path of the Idong Reservoir, water playgrounds, and barefoot trails—garnered high marks. The creation of a basic plan for carbon neutrality and green growth, fine dust management, improvement of sewage pipelines, and upgrades to bicycle roads and pedestrian environments were also positively reflected in the assessment.

In the support systems sector, urban regeneration projects tailored to the characteristics of areas like Singal Five-Way Intersection, Jungang-dong, Guseong/Mabuk, and Pungdeokcheon-dong, along with safety reinforcement policies incorporating smart technology, were considered strengths. The operation of citizen and expert advisory panels and a citizens’ support group, which enabled resident opinions to be reflected in policy, also contributed to the city’s award.

Mayor Sang-il Lee said, “This award is a meaningful outcome that recognizes the efforts made across all areas of city administration, in cooperation with 1.11 million citizens of Yongin, to strengthen the city’s competitiveness and improve quality of life and living conditions. As Yongin is rapidly growing in both population and urban scale while striving to become a global hub for the semiconductor industry, we will continue to expand living infrastructure in areas such as transportation, welfare, culture, and environment, and implement policies that allow citizens to tangibly experience positive changes, so that Yongin becomes a city where everyone wants to live.”

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