Yum Tae-Yeong (Democratic Party) was elected as the 26^th Mayor of Suwon City.

In the local elections held on June 2, Suwon Mayor-elect Yum received 51.42% (213,583 votes), defeating Sim Jaein, who received 39.72% (164,953 votes), by 11.7%. The election results indicated that Mayor-elect Yum predominated in every gu of Suwon City. 

After his victory was confirmed, Mayor-elect Yum said, “Suwon citizens’ desire for new politics was the most important factor for my victory in the election. This victory belongs to the 1.1 million citizens of Suwon and it is going to be the engine to transform Suwon into a city of ‘hope’ and ‘change.’”

He also added, “Breaking away from so-called ‘concrete administration’, I will remodel Suwon into a city which makes investments in people by focusing on welfare, education, and childcare. I will fulfill my election pledges and open an era of hopeful politics while keeping the pride of Suwon City.”

<Speech by Suwon Mayor-elect Yum Tae-Yeong>

I will be a confident leader of Suwon City!

Thank you. Thank you very much.

At this moment, I am preparing myself for the important mission of promoting future development and recovering the pride of Suwon. Those are the unchanging desires of Suwon citizens, who have always been faithful to their roles, as well as my promise and responsibility to their hopes.

Even though the campaign lasted for only 13 days, I discovered the reality of Suwon through the voices of street cleaners awakening the dawn. Holding hands with the merchants at traditional outdoor markets, I saw the present conditions of Suwon. Also, I talked about the realities of Suwon City with younger generations who are worried about employment problems

Spending time with Suwon citizens, once again, I thought about the true path that Suwon should take. From now on, I will do my best to promote the development of Suwon and recover the pride of the city. That is the only way to save and unite Suwon.

I will forget the conflicts and animosities that arose during the campaign and embrace everything with a love for Suwon and in the name of Suwon citizens. My duty is to revamp Suwon City using all my energy.

‘Making Suwon a Human City which Welcomes People’

I already made my promises. On Rodeo Street of Suwon Station, on Na Hye-seok Street, and on the streets of Paldalmun, Ingye-dong, and Yeongtong-dong, I met with Suwon citizens to talk about my determination for hope and change.

First, I will make Suwon a city that welcomes people.

Breaking away from the old ‘concrete administration,’ I will invest in people by focusing on welfare, childcare, and education. Also, I will serve the healthiest lunches to children because they are the future of Suwon. By establishing the ‘People-oriented Suwon Development Committee’ with the participation of citizens and leaders from every sector, I will transform Suwon into a city that truly respects human beings.

Second, I will pursue well-balanced urban development.

By establishing cutting-edge and urban service industries as centers of development, I will vitalize the businesses and the livelihoods of the public through urban regeneration projects.

Lastly, I will be a mayor who truly loves citizens.

Wiping out the sense of complacency in public organizations, I will do my best to work for the present and future of Suwon citizens. In addition, I will prevent regional conflicts, communicate with citizens, and be modest.

I will throw away my pride and dedicate my life to promoting the development and keeping the pride of Suwon City, a place where the spirit of King Jeongjo still lives. Believing that I am strong enough to move a mountain, I will carry out my duties thinking about each one of you every step of the way.

My fellow Suwon citizens!

For the sake of our children, the future of Suwon should be happy. To reach that goal, there are two things that we desperately need; hope and change. They are not something that we can ask for. We need to work for it. You and I will walk the path of hope and change together.

These days, Suwon is filled with happy changes. The glory and honor of winning the election are not mine. They are owned by the 1.1 million citizens of Suwon. The promise and responsibility to serve Suwon citizens are what I have been given.

Once again, I would like to extend my deep gratitude to the citizens of Suwon who supported opposition candidates including myself (a Democratic Party member), and Kim Hyeon-cheol from the Democratic Labor Party. I also want to thank my campaign staff and volunteers.

In addition, I want to offer words of encouragement and consolation to the other candidates including Sim Jae-in of the Grand National Party, Yu Deok-hwa of the New Progressive Party of Korea, and the independent candidates, Sin Hyeon-tae and Lee Yun-hui.

It is the victory for the 1.1 million citizens of Suwon, and it is going to be a powerful force in opening an era of hope and change.

Thank you very much.

June 3, 2010

Yum Tae-Yeong

Mayor-elect of Suwon City

Source - http://eng.suwon.ne.kr

Suwon City had prepared the ‘2010 Suwon Environmental Information Map’ which provides comprehensive environmental information about Suwon City.

The purpose of the map is to convey environment-related information of Suwon City, such as the status of air pollution in seven locations as measured by the Suwon Air Quality Management Network.

In addition, the map conveys basic status including information on Suwon Hwaseong Fortress, neighboring parks, natural ecology, bicycle paths, environmental infrastructure, water quality, and references to the indigenous fish of the four major rivers as well as vegetation, birds, and creatures living at the bottom of rivers and lakes.

The map shows that total length of the Suwon, Woncheon, Seoho, and Hwang-gu watercourses is 59.45km, and that Chinese minnows inhabit the upper stream; this fish only lives in the cleanest water. However, it turns out that fish stocks are not diverse. This is because of watercourse straightening and bank revetment work, direct consequences of urban watercourse management policies which focus on size and land procurement.

Meanwhile, thanks to continuous efforts to restore watercourse ecology, the watercourses of Suwon are maintaining a grade 1 level in the upper streams and overall average of grade 2 except for grade 3 to 4 levels in the Woncheon and Seoho watercourses. On the other hand, the water pollution level is relatively high in the Hwang-gu watercourse due to the incomplete repair of sewer pipes with the ongoing development of farmland and housing sites.

Also, due to the influx of yellow dust in the spring, Suwon City’s annual average air pollution level exceeds the standard in terms of fine dust particles, and the nitrogen dioxide concentration is high due to the increasing number of vehicles.

Through the ‘Suwon Environment Information Map’, Suwon citizens and students can view the overall environmental policies of Suwon including the adoption of natural gas buses and pollution-reduction apparatus for vehicles as well as the promotion of low–carbon green growth. It is expected to help enhance overall awareness of the environment and citizen participation to preserve it.

To purchase the map, please call 031-228-3241 (Green Environment Department of Suwon City).

When Korea defeated Greece at the 2010 FIFA World Cup football match held in South Africa on the evening of June 12, Korean supporters participated in ‘street cheering’ and shared the joy of victory with fellow citizens.

At major street cheering locations including the 2^nd Outdoor Music Hall in Manseok Park, the World Cup Stadium, Geobuk Market, and the Outdoor Plaza of Gyeonggi Arts Center, Suwon City went wild with citizens watching the soccer match together.

As a mecca of sports, street cheering for the Korean soccer team to reach the semi-finals will continue in Suwon City.

Street cheering for the second match against Argentina on June 17 at 8:30 p.m. and the third game between Korea and Nigeria on June 23 at 3:30 a.m. will be held at the 2^nd Outdoor Music Hall in Manseok Park.

To fire up the cheering atmosphere, a ‘Dudeurim’ performance by Soripower and O.X. quiz event will be held one hour before the game starts. If the Korean team makes the top 16, the city will extend the events.

Korean supporters are going to gather at the World Cup Stadium to cheer on the national team. ‘Street Cheering at the Suwon World Cup Stadium’ is going to continue as a sports festival not only for the first three games but also for the next rounds.

Real-time broadcasting through large electronic displays, enthusiastic cheering, and various events will be included. They will broadcast the second match against Argentina on June 17 at 8:30 p.m., the match between Korea and Nigeria on June 23 at 3:30 a.m., and more games if the Korean team makes it to the top 16 or even further.

The Gyeonggi Arts Center will broadcast the match between Korea and Argentina on June 17, just like they did on June 12 for the game against Greece, at a special stage of the Outdoor Plaza using a large screen.

There will be art performances by the Gyeonggi-do Art Company at 8 p.m. before the game. On June 12, the Gyeonggi-do Gukak (traditional Korean music) Company will perform Samulnori (a traditional Korean percussion quartet) and on June 17, the Gyeonggi-do Dance Company will offer a Modeumbuk performance. (In case of rain, the venue will move to a small performance hall.)

Source - http://eng.suwon.ne.kr

An ‘Experience Program’ of the Happy Suwon Broadcasting Network, Suwon City’s Internet broadcasting network, is gaining popularity among teenagers.

On June 5, Suwon City started the experience program targeting fourteen students from Yuljeon Middle School, and thirteen students from Dongseong Middle School will join the program on June 19.

The purpose of this program, which was started last year, is to provide firsthand experience to students who dream of working in broadcasting. So far, 115 students from eight schools have participated in the program, including the Suwon Academy of World Languages and Suil Girl’s Middle School.

This year, the network opened its doors to elementary school students to expand such opportunities, and students from fourteen schools have already applied to participate in the program. The participants, members of broadcasting clubs, are highly interested in broadcasting. They can experience news anchor training in vocalization, pronunciation, and article writing as well as video shooting and editing. Anyone may see the training process through the network’s website (tv.suwon.ne.kr).

One city official said, “Because they are highly interested in broadcasting, they are very enthusiastic and their questions are quite professional.”

The experience program will continue until the end of this year.

For more information, please call 031-228-3066

Source - http://eng.suwon.ne.kr

‘Ubiquitous City Plan’ establishs to actualize ‘Suwon City U-City Project’.

Suwon City has been working on the U-City construction project in Gwanggyo New Town and Homaesil District in order to strengthen urban competitiveness and promote sustainable development.

Ubiquitous City Planning is a master plan to reduce the information service gap between older and newer city areas, and it will be reflected in the city’s basic plan.

Suwon City is scheduled to finalize the plan by February 2011, and held a briefing session on the launch of the service project on June 15 in a situation room of Suwon City Hall. Members of the Suwon City U-City Project Committee, representatives of police and fire stations, and Suwon City officials from related departments participated in the briefing session.

According to a city official, there are six major U-City public services including crime prevention, disaster management, traffic information, facility management, environmental information, administrative service provision, and portal website operation. Once the plan is established, identifying citizen-oriented and profit model services and securing an operational budget for U-City are expected to be facilitated.

Additionally, U-City infrastructure is expected to be secured for small and mid-sized urban development districts including Gwonseon-dong, Sin-dong, and Gotjimmal along with business districts for residential environment improvement and the Suwon Industrial Complex. Accordingly, the city is expected to find measures to promote well-balanced U-City development while providing high-quality services by minimizing U-City blind spots and preventing discordant development.

One city official said, “Suwon City was chosen as the ‘top information city of 2010’ at the 2010 Broadband Economic Establishment Conference hosted by the ICF-Intelligent Community Forum of New York on May 21st in the United States. The worldwide status of Suwon City as an ‘information city’ has been upgraded. Suwon is going to develop into an internationally renowned information-oriented city through the U-City construction project.”

Source - http://eng.suwon.ne.kr

Paldal-gu will hold the ‘2010 Loving Family! Sharing Happiness! The 7th Paldal Seongan Festival’ on June 19 from 1 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Suwon Hwaseong Haenggung Plaza. At a place representative of the filial love of King Jeongjo, festival participants can enjoy the atmosphere and culture of their ancestors.

With Suwon Hwaseong Fortress, a UNESCO world cultural heritage site, in the background, there will be exciting performances, including a small concert by Suwon Women’s University Band, and a special performance by popular entertainers.

At an exhibition entitled ‘Traveling to the Past! Cultural Experience of History,’ participants can appreciate the artwork imbued with the spirit of master craftsmen. This includes Sino Kim Jong-ok’s Dancheong (traditional multicolored paintwork on wooden buildings) and Changho Somokjang Kim Sun-gi’s Changho (windows and doors).

In addition, there will be interesting events such as entering the rice-bin of Crown Prince Sado in Suwon Hwaseong Palace, which is operated by the Suwon Hwaseong Management Foundation, as well as tightrope walking and a Talchum (masked dance) performance.   

Elementary school students should not miss the interesting and historically important opportunity to learn the true qualities of Suwon Hwaseong Fortress, a UNESCO world cultural heritage site, provided by ‘Happy Tour to Meet the Hidden Treasures of Suwon Hwaseong.’ With a guide, students will tour Nangnamheon, Hwaryeongjeon, and other important attractions of Suwon Hwaseong Palace and the Suwon Hwaseong Museum.

Participants will also appreciate eleven unique programs like 3D craft puzzles, traditional bow/mask making, magic-hand making, perler beads craft, face painting, balloon art, magic bubble, and more during ‘Joyful Unique Experience Hanmadang’.

At the ‘Sharing Happiness Market’ of the ‘Paldal Sharing Happiness and Love’ event, visitors can buy food, books, and household items at reasonable prices and learn about the real life of past generations at an antique flea market.

For more information, please call at 228-7225 or 7223.

Source - http://eng.suwon.ne.kr

Hosted by the ‘Citizens Movement to Love Mt. Gwanggyo’ and sponsored by Suwon City, the 7

The festival program on June 19^th includes a drawing contest, taekwondo demonstration, children’s marching band, recreational activities, a citizen’s singing contest, and a musical fountain show. On June 20^th, participants can enjoy Pungmulnori, a Boribap-mixing event, a youth festival, and an Arirang party.

A photography exhibition, art exhibition, face painting, balloon art, leaf-handkerchief making, wooden flute making, folk games, kite making, and Anabana market will be held both on the 19^th and 20^th so that families and friends can enjoy various experiences and have fun.

The Citizen Singing Contest will be a great chance to show off hidden talent, and participants will be able to relieve their stress by watching lively art performances at the Arirang party, the last performance of the event. 

In addition, by participating in the ‘Love Mt. Gwanggyo Drawing Contest’, kindergarten, elementary, junior high, and high school students in Suwon City will draw the famous mountain of Suwon while appreciating its beauty and incalculable value.

At the ‘Mixing Large-sized Boribap’ event, which symbolizes the harmony and solidarity of Suwon citizens, people will mix 2,010 servings of Boribap and serve them to participants for free. 

For more information, please call 228-2472.

Source - http://eng.suwon.ne.kr