Im Byeong-taek, the mayor of Sihung, congratulated the Shincheon-dong Residents' Council for winning the top prize at the Gyeonggi Province Residents' Council Excellence Case Competition. He emphasized that this achievement reflects grassroots governance, where residents actively solve everyday issues.
On July 28, Im shared on his social media that the Shincheon-dong Residents' Council received the award for their project titled "Changing Daily Life through Governance: Shincheon-dong Shared Parking." He expressed gratitude for the hard work and dedication of the council members, stating, "I am proud of Sihung, a city with many good citizens."
The Shincheon-dong Residents' Council presented their project at the '2026 Gyeonggi Province Residents' Council Excellence Case Competition' held at the Gyeonggi Provincial Office's Dasan Hall, where they were selected as the top winner among 15 municipalities that passed the preliminary review.
Due to the dense residential and commercial nature of the old downtown area, securing new public parking spaces has been challenging, leading to repeated illegal parking during nights and weekends. The Residents' Council devised a solution by sharing parking lots at schools, churches, and commercial facilities that are vacant during specific hours.
The council members actively identified available spaces, met with facility managers to discuss parking hours, user recruitment, safety management, and maintaining order. They also played a key role in mediating any inconveniences between facility owners and residents.
Since signing a partnership agreement with Shincheon High School in 2019, Sihung City has expanded the shared parking initiative to include Shincheon Elementary School, Shincheon Church, and Shinil Bank Elementary School. The Residents' Council has been responsible for member recruitment and on-site operations, broadening the community's shared parking infrastructure.
The judging panel highly praised the initiative for utilizing existing underused spaces as community resources instead of incurring significant costs to build new facilities. They noted the active participation of residents throughout the entire process, from identifying local issues to persuading facility owners, formalizing agreements, and actual operations.
Mayor Im stated, "To address the parking shortage in the old downtown, schools, churches, and commercial facilities joined the shared parking movement, thanks to the active persuasion and service of the dedicated Residents' Council members. I sincerely congratulate Chairperson Lee Eun-joo and the committee for their efforts leading to this valuable recognition from Gyeonggi Province."
He added, "I am truly grateful and proud of the many good citizens in Sihung who willingly dedicate their time and effort for their community. I will work to ensure that the positive changes created by residents continue and spread to other neighborhoods."
Meanwhile, Gyeonggi Province selected Sihung City as the top winner in this competition, awarding the best prize to Gapyeong County and excellence awards to Gunpo, Anseong, and Hwaseong cities. A total of 29 million won will be provided to the winning municipalities to support the dissemination of residents' council initiatives.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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