With the launch of Incheon’s Yeongjong-gu District on July 1, Son Hwa-jeong, who was inaugurated that afternoon as the first mayor of the Yeongjong-gu District of Incheon Metropolitan City, laid out a governing vision to complete “Yeongjong, the airport economic capital of the Republic of Korea” together with 140,000 residents. As the first head of the newly established basic local government put issues directly tied to residents’ daily lives — such as transportation, healthcare and jobs — front and center from his very first day in office, residents’ expectations for resolving Yeongjong’s pending local issues are growing.
 [The Korean Today] Son Hwa-jeong, first mayor of Yeongjong-gu District © Reporter Kim Mi-hee |
The inauguration ceremony was held at 2 p.m. that day in the main auditorium of the Yeongjong Complex Cultural Center. With about 200 people in attendance, including residents, city and district council members, heads of related institutions and organizations, and public officials, the event proceeded with a performance, the pledge of allegiance, the oath of office and an inaugural address, and attendees together celebrated the first launch of Yeongjong-gu District. In his inaugural address, Mayor Son said, “Heeding the solemn command of residents to design Yeongjong’s hundred-year plan, I will complete Yeongjong, the airport economic capital of the Republic of Korea, together with 140,000 residents.”
This inauguration ceremony stood out for being held on a much smaller scale than the customary launch events of local governments. In line with Mayor Son’s stated intent to “choose substance for residents over showy splendor,” the event was conducted modestly in consideration of the fiscal conditions of the early launch period, among other factors. This is interpreted as placing weight on early administrative stabilization so that the newly established autonomous district can settle in steadily.
In his inaugural address, Mayor Son emphasized that he would take as the starting point of his administration the voices of residents he had heard while touring across Yeongjong during the campaign period — from apartments and commercial districts to construction sites and coastal areas. “I heard the vivid and urgent voices of the field of people’s livelihoods, such as the difficulties of commuting and the lack of medical infrastructure,” he said. “I will make all of these voices the starting point of Yeongjong’s district administration.” His vision is to make Yeongjong a city where quality of life grows together, a city where people want to stay, and a city that draws the world’s attention.
As measures to realize this, Mayor Son presented five core pledges. The first is expanding the metropolitan and internal transport network by reflecting long-cherished projects — such as the GTX-D and E lines, the Second Airport Railroad, and the extension of the KTX to Incheon Airport — in the Fifth National Railway Network Construction Plan, and by reorganizing bus routes and introducing demand-responsive transport. The second is expanding public healthcare infrastructure through the creation of a public health and welfare town that provides a public general hospital and integrated medical welfare by life stage, as well as strengthening the emergency medical response system with moonlight children’s hospitals, public late-night pharmacies and an emergency medical hotline.
The third is building an airport economic zone connecting the aviation, logistics, tourism, MICE and advanced service industries to create a self-sufficient city centered on jobs, with a focus on fostering the semiconductor back-end industry, attracting new aircraft parking bases, building an aircraft maintenance cluster, and attracting a bio national industrial complex. The fourth is creating a stay-oriented global tourism city that links Incheon Airport’s global network, marine tourism resources and K-content, and the fifth is creating a resident-centered complex administrative town where administrative, welfare and living services can be used in one place.
Mayor Son also made clear that such changes cannot be achieved by the power of one district mayor alone. “The enormous change in Yeongjong-gu cannot be created by the district mayor alone; it can be completed only when the participation of 140,000 residents, the dedication of more than 700 public officials, and the cooperation of Incheon City and the central government come together as ‘one team,'” he stressed. He added, “I will carry out an administration that fulfills its responsibilities, an administration that gives its sincerity, and an administration that puts action ahead of words,” saying, “I will prove it not with flashy words but with tangible, real results and action.” He also expressed his intent to run the district administration with a sense of speed in cooperation with the Lee Jae-myung government and the Incheon city administration of Park Chan-dae.
Mayor Son’s schedule on his first day in office began even before the inauguration ceremony. At 7 a.m. that day, through an overall inspection of the data migration of the administrative information system prompted by the administrative system reorganization, he made a final check of the system operation status to ensure the stable provision of administrative services. He then carried out the launch commemorative “Yeongjong-gu, Green Start!” environmental cleanup activity together with senior officials at the rank of grade 5 and above, paid tribute at the memorial tower in Subong Park, and signed the handover-and-takeover documents in the mayor’s office at the Yeongjong-gu District Office, officially beginning his duties as the first district mayor.
After completing the inauguration ceremony, Mayor Son immediately moved to the Yeongjong-gu District Office to hold a signboard unveiling ceremony, and in the evening he attended a citizens’ celebration event for the administrative system reorganization held at the Incheon Culture and Arts Center, continuing his outreach to communicate with residents. “I will do my best until Yeongjong’s infinite possibilities become a certain reality,” Mayor Son said, pledging to surely realize the slogan of the ninth popularly elected district administration: ‘Yeongjong-gu, connecting the sky, opening the future, and embracing people.’
[ Reporter Kim Mi-hee: incheonsouth@thekoreantoday.com ]
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