Siheung Mayor Lim Byeong-taek officially declared his bid for a third term on Wednesday, pledging to complete his vision of making the city a "K-Siheung, a representative city of South Korea."
Building on eight years of administrative achievements, Lim emphasized policy continuity and presented securing future growth engines and balanced development as his core agenda.
"I am running for the Siheung mayoral election for the ninth popular-vote term to ensure uninterrupted development of Siheung and to complete the projects we have been pursuing," Lim said at a press conference held at Neumnae Hall in Siheung City Hall. "I will prove the past eight years of achievements through the lives of our citizens and will complete K-Siheung without fail."
He cited key accomplishments during his tenure, including six consecutive years of being named the top-performing local government in the nationwide pledge fulfillment evaluation, three consecutive years of ranking first in the Gyeonggi Province municipal comprehensive assessment, and seven consecutive years of being selected as an excellent organization in the Ministry of the Interior and Safety's innovation evaluation. "Siheung has undergone eight years of transformation and growth," he said.
Lim outlined three policy priorities for the ninth popular-vote term: creating future growth engines, expanding infrastructure for balanced growth, and pursuing future projects that citizens can feel in their daily lives. He stressed policy continuity and accountable governance. "Completing the projects we have been pursuing is our duty to the citizens," he said.
He identified fostering AI and bio industries as his key future growth strategy.
"Siheung is now establishing itself as a city of AI and bio," Lim said, pointing to achievements such as attracting a national advanced bio specialized complex, breaking ground on Siheung Baegot Seoul National University Hospital, securing large-scale private investment, and building bio research infrastructure. "As AI and bio are national core priorities, we will complete an innovation cluster in Siheung to drive both regional and national development," he added.
To that end, he plans to pursue the lifting of greenbelt restrictions in the Jeongwang district and its designation as a national industrial complex, attract companies to the Baegot Free Economic Zone and Siheung-Gwangmyeong Techno Valley, and transition the Sihwa National Industrial Complex toward new industries. He also unveiled plans to build a new urban growth axis through station-area development around Siheung City Hall Station and Wolgot Station.
"We will build a city that attracts businesses and talent, increase tax revenue and jobs, and return the results to the lives of our citizens," Lim said.
He also expressed his commitment to expanding infrastructure for balanced development. His strategy centers on expanding integrated care services based on a dong-level administrative system while simultaneously building transportation networks and developing the old downtown areas. He explained that the construction of Maehwa Station on the Shin-Ansan Line and Janggok Station on the Gyeonggang Line, as well as the Wolgot-Baegot tram project, would be pushed forward with urgency, alongside strengthened hub development around station areas.
In particular, he presented the Sincheon-Sinrim Line, the Second Metropolitan Ring Expressway, and the Baegot Bridge as key projects to ease transportation congestion in the southwestern Seoul metropolitan area. "Balanced development of Siheung is an unwavering goal of our administration," he said.
Lim also plans to continue old downtown revitalization policies. These include reforming urban and residential environment improvement plans, reorganizing aging planned cities, restoring the commercial district centered on Daeya-dong, and expanding various cooperative projects for regional economic recovery. He explained that he has worked to establish dedicated teams and organize cultural events to restore commercial districts in Geobuk Island and Eungye, which were hit hard by the COVID-19 downturn.
He also introduced new projects, including attracting the Gwacheon horse racing park relocation, establishing a physical AI diffusion center, and launching a startup valley project. Regarding the horse racing park, he said, "We will work with the Korea Racing Authority to create a new leisure culture model," expressing his intent to pursue the initiative strategically through a dedicated organization.
"Now is a decisive moment for Siheung to take another leap forward," Lim said. "Based on proven achievements and execution capabilities, I will continue delivering changes that citizens can feel."
