Interview Lee Young-in, President of Suwon Urban Development Corporation, "The answer lies in the field"

[News S=Reporter Lee Min-jung] Suwon Urban Development Corporation (President Lee Young-in), which is serving as a catalyst for the growth and development of Suwon Special City under the slogan 'Future Value Designer of Suwon,' is embarking on discovering 'signature' projects to transform into a more proactive and tangible municipal enterprise.

President Lee Young-in emphasized "discovering signature projects by team, department, and headquarters and branding representative projects from each business site" at his first official report as the fourth president.

Going one step further from the facility management and operations work done so far, the corporation aims to provide customized citizen-centered services in which each department proactively discovers policies and draws in citizen perception and empathy.

Accordingly, the corporation has gathered voices from citizens using each business site such as Yeonhwa Hall and the Comprehensive Sports Complex and formulated policies. Among them, the viable alternative proposed is the 'signature project.'

We listened to President Lee Young-in's implementation plans for the 'signature project' being pursued under the administrative principle of 'the answer lies in the field.'

The following is a Q&A format interview.

- What policies are the affiliated organizations promoting?

"Suwon Yeonhwa Hall, which leads advanced funeral culture, plans to create religious ritual halls (tentative name) to address inconveniences caused by religious funeral services such as Catholic rites. By holding religious services in independent spaces during the final farewell with the deceased, the quality of funeral services is expected to be further enhanced.

Jangan-gu Community Center will discover and establish 'comprehensive programs' that cover all generations from infants to children, adolescents, and seniors. Additionally, it will expand from single lecture enrollment to integrate culture and sports, presenting expanded lifelong education.

- What about sports facilities such as Gwanggyo Wellness National Sports Center, Comprehensive Sports Complex, and Hwasan Sports Park?

"Gwanggyo Wellness National Sports Center will introduce a progress completion system and a period completion system to expand fair opportunities for swimming classes. The progress completion system covers up to advanced swimming classes, while the period completion system involves completing a single class such as aqua aerobics for a certain period. It is expected to flexibly address demand for swimming classes.

The Comprehensive Sports Complex, where professional sports are held, will introduce a 'reservation pass system' that allows parking for family-unit spectators accompanied by children among citizens who could not apply for advance parking. Hwasan Sports Park will transition into an activated golf facility and participatory sports platform with various events such as 'long-distance (distance) competitions planned to be held.'"

- What other facility improvement plans will be pursued?"

"Through discovering projects that citizens can perceive and empathize with, I will spare no effort in growing as a municipal enterprise that can get closer to citizens.

To this end, the corporation plans to seek comprehensive improvement plans for Suwon's culture and sports classes and facilities through regular results-sharing meetings with citizens to meet the needs of facility users. In addition, coinciding with the 'Suwon Tourism Year 2026-2027,' we will upgrade real-time public parking lot inquiry services to increase convenience for tourists visiting Suwon City.

We will also prepare measures to improve mobility in major tourism areas of Suwon City such as pedestrian and traffic improvements in행궁동 (Haengung-dong) and strengthen the towing of shared PM and bicycles."

- You are known as an organization head who works on the ground.

"My administrative principle is 'the answer lies in the field.' The principle ingrained in me through a long career in public service cannot change simply because I took office as president of the corporation. Since taking office, I have visited all business sites in person to examine operational status and have observed not only operations management staff but also employees at customer contact points.

Furthermore, through communication with citizens, I am understanding what citizens want and what areas need improvement. The saying that all answers lie in the field means that it is important to identify substantive problems rather than judging based on fragmented field observations. Listening to the voices of field staff and citizens is the first step."

- Finally, is there anything else you would like to say?

"For the organization to transform from a uniform structure into a flexible and elastic one, all members of the organization must make efforts. We are promoting the branding of the corporation through the discovery of signature projects. In keeping with the slogan 'Future Value Designer of Suwon,' I will do my best to provide customized citizen-centered services."