Mayor Kim Kyungil: "Two Hundred Sessions Are Not Just a Number but a Process of Action... We Will Continue Communicative Governance"

The 200th session of Paju City's "Visiting Mobile Mayor's Office," the core communication channel of the 8th popularly elected city administration, has set a milestone for field-centered governance.

Paju City announced that it held the 200th Mobile Mayor's Office on the 3rd at the venue of a briefing on the municipal administration operation plan in Geumchon 2-dong. This achievement came 1,232 days after it first began on September 20, 2022. During that time, Mayor Kim Kyungil of Paju has met directly with more than 7,400 citizens on site.

Kim Kyungil, Mayor of Paju, is taking a commemorative photo with attendees after holding the 200th mobile mayor's office at a briefing on the municipal administration operation plan held on the 3rd in Geumchon 2-dong. Provided by Paju City.

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With the aim of realizing direct democracy driven by citizens, Mayor Kim Kyungil of Paju has met more than 7,400 citizens through the Mobile Mayor's Office, listening to various policy proposals and suggestions. This has led to the development of innovative policies for Paju City, such as "Paprika," a student-only circular school bus service.

Since it first opened on September 20, 2022, immediately after the launch of the 8th popularly elected administration, the Mobile Mayor's Office has been operated a total of 200 times over 1,232 days: 20 times in 2022, 32 times in 2023, 69 times in 2024, 66 times in 2025, and 13 times up to February 3, 2026.

A total of 2,520 suggestions have been received through the Mobile Mayor's Office. Of these, 1,289 cases, or 51%, have been resolved; 19% are currently in progress; and 30% have been classified as matters requiring long-term review or issues that are difficult to pursue immediately due to institutional constraints.

Kim Kyungil, Mayor of Paju, held the 200th mobile mayor's office at a city administration plan briefing held in Geumchon 2-dong on the 3rd. Photo by Paju City

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What is noteworthy is that the opinions and proposals raised by citizens through the Mobile Mayor's Office have gone beyond the level of handling civil complaints and have led to practical problem-solving and policy implementation. Traveling across Paju over 200 sessions and engaging more than 7,400 citizens, the Mobile Mayor's Office has firmly established itself as a truly "field-oriented policy communication platform."

In practice, the plea of a self-employed business owner struggling amid a prolonged economic downturn that "we cannot hold out any longer" led to the issuance of "Paju Pay," the largest local currency program in the country, and to the permanent maintenance of a 10% incentive. The suggestion from a small and medium-sized business owner that "there is no opportunity to promote our products" resulted in the launch of the Paju City Corporate Expo and was further expanded into export consultation meetings inviting overseas purchasing companies.

The request from parents that "it is inconvenient for students to commute to school due to a lack of public transportation" gave rise to "Paprika," the nation's first student-only circular school bus service. The voices of parents saying "there is no place within the apartment complex where we can leave our children" were reflected in the creation of a new care model, the "Paju-style All Together Care Center," which is operated with all expenses covered by the city, even though it is not a legally mandated installation area.

In this way, the Mobile Mayor's Office has taken everyday inconveniences, which are difficult to identify through desk-bound reports, as the starting point for policy, and has successively produced innovative policies that represent Paju City under the 8th popularly elected administration.

Kim Kyungil, Mayor of Paju, held his 200th mobile mayor's office on the 3rd at a briefing on the city's administrative operation plan in Geumchon 2-dong. Provided by Paju City

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Furthermore, as the number of sessions has increased, the Mobile Mayor's Office has not stopped at resolving the inconveniences of the majority, but has expanded into an "empathy administration" that embraces even the small difficulties in the lives of minorities within the realm of policy.

The complaint from a resident of Jeokseong-myeon that "when a child gets sick, we have to travel far away" led to the dispatch of a pediatric specialist to the Jeokseong Health Branch Clinic, and the appeal from parents of students with developmental disabilities that "there is nowhere to go during school vacations" resulted in the establishment of a vacation care support program for students with developmental disabilities. This demonstrates that the Mobile Mayor's Office is not merely a window for civil complaints, but a central pillar of on-site administration that addresses policy blind spots.

When asked about his reflections on reaching the 200th session of the Mobile Mayor's Office, Mayor Kim Kyungil of Paju emphasized, "The number 200 is not our goal. What matters more is that this is the process of fulfilling our commitment to listen directly to citizens' voices on site and to reflect their opinions in policy."

Mayor Kim added, "When we communicate with citizens, we always find wise answers. If Paju City has achieved any success, it is nothing other than the fruit of communication. The determination to listen to citizens' voices and to meet their expectations and standards is what has made Paju what it is today."

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