Mayor Lee Dong-hwan said, “All-out efforts to select free economic zones and improve transportation.”

Lee Dong-hwan, Mayor of Goyang Special City, stressed that 2023 will be the year of Goyang that leads innovation and change in the New Year.

Mayor Lee Dong-hwan said at a ceremony attended by about 300 employees at the City Hall Cultural Center on the 2nd, “If 2022 was a year to set the direction and action strategy, 2023 will be a year to reap tangible results through practice.”

The idea is to drastically reduce unnecessary meetings and work and create a “lighter and more mobile young organization” by eliminating waste of time caused by writing documents.

In particular, Mayor Lee Dong-hwan said, “We need to prepare for greater challenges and growth this year along with organizational innovation,” and encouraged, “Although new changes may face difficulties in front of us, let’s gather wisdom together to overcome the crisis.”

Mayor Lee Dong-hwan first ordered, “Please do your best to strengthen the regional innovation ecosystem, foster global exchange-cooperation hubs, and improve the regional development base until the free economic zone is finally selected in 2024.

Transportation is the most important factor when talking about urban competitiveness, he said. “In the future, we need to actively expand transportation infrastructure in new self-sufficient facilities such as Janghang District and Ilsan Techno Valley, and at the same time, we need to overhaul the sidewalks that citizens find very uncomfortable.”

In other words, if commuting time is reduced and citizens walk more comfortably, another level of welfare will result in citizens being evenly distributed.

Mayor Lee Dong-hwan also explained, “Goyang-si will enter a super-aged society by 2028, and low birth and aging will cause various problems such as slowing economic growth, local collapse, and worsening pension fiscal balance.”

Regarding the quasi-budget system, Lee Dong-hwan said, “It’s a pity that the city council hasn’t deliberated on the budget, but please do your best to minimize damage to citizens.”

Finally, Lee Dong-hwan said, “Whether or not we can jump for the Year of the Rabbit depends only on self-innovation, and new changes start with mindset and goals,” adding, “Please also have ‘preemptive response technology’, one of the top 10 consumption trends this year that can directly respond to new changes.”

Meanwhile, the opening ceremony was held in the order of national ceremonies, citizen interview videos (people who open the morning), New Year’s speeches, and congratulatory performances by the city choir.

Mayor Lee Dong-eun began his first official work in the new year of the Gyemyo year by visiting Memorial Park in Goyang City before the opening ceremony.