Lee Dong-hwan, mayor of Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, held an emergency press conference at Goyang City Hall on the 24th, strongly demanding a forward-looking decision from the Gyeonggi Provincial Government. "The provincial government should be a facilitator that helps lower-level municipalities develop, not a manager that ties their hands and feet," Lee said.
"A significant portion of Goyang's land is restricted by greenbelt zones and military protection areas, and the entire city is designated as an overcrowding control zone," Lee said. "While southern Gyeonggi has grown by embracing the semiconductor belt and major corporations, northern Gyeonggi has never once been given a fair opportunity."
He presented four core pending issues that Gyeonggi Province must resolve immediately.
The first is the designation of a Free Economic Zone. "Goyang adjusted its planned area four times over three years to reflect the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy's (MOTIE) feedback," Lee said. "We drastically reduced the area from the 8.07 million pyeong originally designated by the province as a candidate site, making painful cuts, and we have also secured financing for the total project cost of 7 trillion won ($5.1 billion)." He added, "If Goyang had been the applicant, we would have filed two years ago," pressing that "the province must step to the front of negotiations with MOTIE not as a mere messenger but as the applying entity."
The second issue is the investment review for the city hall relocation project. "Instead of building a new city hall costing more than 430 billion won ($314 million), we chose relocation to Baekseok, which is feasible for 33 billion won ($24 million) — a rational decision considering our 32% fiscal independence ratio," Lee said. "The purpose of the investment review system is to prevent reckless fiscal management by local governments, yet rejecting a rational project four times amounts to negligent administration."
He also urged normalization of the K-Culture Valley project. "The construction restart date promised by the governor has been delayed by 10 months," Lee said, demanding that "the basic agreement with Live Nation must be signed within this year." He proposed the formation of a public-private consultative body involving Gyeonggi Province, Goyang City, and the Goyang City Council, saying, "Rather than merely going through consultative processes, administrative procedures should be pursued simultaneously to devise an extraordinary plan."
The final issue is the adjustment of provincial subsidy rates to realistic levels. "Gyeonggi Province has cut an additional 10 percentage points from the standard subsidy rate of 30%, providing only 20%," Lee said. "For the 60 billion won ($44 million) bus quasi-public operation system, the provincial share is only 30%, and Goyang bears the entire cost of the 20 billion won ($15 million) community bus service." He pointed out, "National and provincial subsidy shares have surged to 57.6%, yet the provincial subsidy rate has paradoxically decreased," calling for the standard subsidy rate to be raised from 30% to 50% and for the introduction of a differentiated subsidy system.
Lee disclosed that his request for a meeting with Governor Kim Dong-yeon had been ignored. "I tried to visit the provincial office myself, but the governor had registered as a preliminary candidate for local elections on the 20th and had stepped down from his duties," he said. "I want to ask whether it is a responsible attitude for a governor who promised to maximize northern Gyeonggi's potential to embark on a political campaign while turning his back on the long-held wishes of Goyang's citizens."
Regarding future measures, Lee said, "There is a process through which we have been making procedural demands, and we will pursue extraordinary measures." He emphasized, "Administrative procedures may not go smoothly, but we will not stop, together with our 1.08 million citizens." He declared, "Just because Governor Kim has entered an election does not mean Gyeonggi Province's responsibilities disappear. We will keep pushing forward until the province treats Goyang as a partner for mutual prosperity and makes a decision with genuine sincerity."