Mayor Baek Younghyun: "From health and care to future industries... We'll create changes residents can feel"

Pocheon City Holds Briefing on First 100 Days of Ninth Popularly Elected Administration
Presents Four Key Strategies, Including Emergency Medical Care, Education, Defense Industry and Garden City
Moves to Establish AI Policy Officer's Office; Details Implementation Plans for 148 Pledges

Pocheon City in Gyeonggi Province, led by Mayor Baek Younghyun, has announced plans to strengthen everyday policies in areas such as health and care as the ninth popularly elected administration marks its 100th day, while developing the defense and drone industries as future growth engines. The city aims to boost its competitiveness by advancing metropolitan transportation networks and station-area development, and connecting Hantangang River with gardens in residential areas.

Pocheon Mayor Baek Younghyun speaks at a media briefing on the 8th, outlining key achievements of the eighth elected administration, progress made since the launch of the ninth administration, and the city’s future policy direction. Photo courtesy of Pocheon City.

At a media briefing on October 8, Pocheon Mayor Baek Younghyun outlined key achievements of the eighth popularly elected administration, progress made since the launch of the ninth administration, and the city’s future governance plans.

Pocheon City has set “A Humanities City Where My Life Is Happy, Pride Pocheon” as its administrative vision and is pursuing four key strategies: a healthy city for residents’ happiness; a cultured city of humanities; an economically balanced city; and a garden city where people want to live.

In health and care, the city plans to establish a 24-hour regional emergency medical system and provide AI-based health management programs for older residents. It will expand support for long-term care and dementia treatment and management, integrated medical and long-term care services, and everyday sports facilities.

In education, the city is seeking designation as an Education Innovation Leading Area and will strengthen its childcare and child-rearing system, centered on “Pocheon Aebom 365.” It will also provide tailored career and college counseling to reduce educational disparities between regions and develop talent in connection with future industries. The city plans to expand humanities and lifelong learning opportunities so that learning leads to growth and settlement in the region.

Key economic initiatives include establishing an advanced defense industry innovation cluster and building a foundation for the K-AI drone industry. The city will also develop smart agriculture and livestock farming and pursue policies to strengthen the business foundations of small and medium-sized enterprises and small business owners.

The city also identified upgrading Hantangang River as a tourism hub, developing station areas in the urban districts of Soheul, Seondan and Pocheon, and expanding metropolitan transportation networks as key priorities. It plans to secure new growth engines in connection with efforts to have the area designated as a Special Peace Economy Zone.

The plan to create a garden city focuses on transforming residents’ everyday spaces. The city will develop Cheongseongsan and Taebong Park, as well as the Pocheoncheon Blueway, and build a network of gardens in residential areas so that people can reach one on foot within five minutes from home. It also plans to enhance the value of the Hantangang UNESCO Global Geopark and promote garden culture in everyday life.

The city said that during the 100 days since the launch of the ninth administration, it had reorganized its administration, including establishing an AI Policy Officer’s Office, and fleshed out implementation plans for 148 pledges. Going forward, it plans to set project priorities by considering both residents’ views and its financial circumstances, and to focus the city’s administrative capacity on those priorities.

Pocheon Mayor Baek Younghyun outlines key achievements of the eighth popularly elected administration, progress made since the launch of the ninth administration, and the city’s future policy direction at a press briefing on the 8th. Photo provided by Pocheon City.

The briefing also highlighted achievements of the eighth popularly elected administration. Examples included being selected as a pilot area for the Education Development Special Zone; establishing the educational and cultural complex “Dureon Dureon”; beginning construction along the entire route of the Okjeong-Pocheon metropolitan railway; attracting the Gyeonggi Defense Venture Center; and installing more EBS Self-Directed Learning Centers than anywhere else in the country.

In areas related to everyday life, the city cited its resident communication forums across 14 eup, myeon and dong districts; expanded parking spaces; improvements to the livestock environment; completion of the Arium community sports center; development of barefoot walking trails and park golf courses; and the opening of the first public postpartum care center in northern Gyeonggi Province.

“The first 100 days since the launch of the ninth popularly elected administration were a time to put residents’ voices at the center of city governance once again and lay the groundwork for future change,” Mayor Baek Younghyun said. “We will strengthen our ability to execute policies so that each one goes beyond being a plan and brings about real changes in residents’ daily lives.”

He added, “We will steadily pursue policies that transform both residents’ lives and Pocheon’s future, spanning health and care, education, future industries, balanced development and a garden city.”

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