Dongducheon to act on citizen satisfaction survey findings

Dongducheon said Monday it will use the results of its "2026 Policy-Oriented Citizen Satisfaction Survey" to sharpen the direction of key policies under the ninth elected administration and identify improvements that residents can feel in their daily lives.

The survey was conducted by Gukmin Research & Consulting Group from Aug. 27 to Sept. 20, covering 1,037 Dongducheon residents through one-on-one in-person interviews. It assessed overall satisfaction with city administration, residential conditions, policy satisfaction and expectations by sector, major local issues, and the use of public facilities.

Overall, 87.5 percent of respondents said they were satisfied with how the city is run.

Some 87.1 percent said Dongducheon is a good place to live, and 82.4 percent said they intend to continue living there — reflecting broadly positive views of city governance and living conditions.

Among residential factors, the natural environment drew the highest satisfaction at 31.0 percent, followed by culture and leisure (13.3 percent), residential conditions (10.7 percent), and safety and security (10.2 percent). On the dissatisfaction side, jobs topped the list at 26.4 percent, followed by traffic and parking (18.5 percent) and healthcare (11.7 percent), pointing to the need to build on the city's strengths while addressing everyday inconveniences.

Residents' average expectations for key projects under the ninth elected administration scored 84.4 out of 100. By sector, the economy ranked highest at 87.0 points, followed by culture, sports and tourism at 85.9 points, health and welfare at 85.9 points, and safety at 85.7 points. When asked to name their top two priority areas, respondents cited the economy (51.4 percent), health and welfare (35.4 percent), urban regeneration (28.7 percent), and transportation (28.4 percent).

The city said it views the high expectations for the economy as a signal that residents want more jobs and a stronger local economy. It plans to use the findings as a basis for developing policies on attracting businesses, expanding the industrial base, supporting employment, and revitalizing local commercial districts.

A breakdown by age group showed that only 50.0 percent of residents in their 20s and 64.7 percent of those in their 30s intend to stay long-term — both well below the overall average. In response, the city said it will look beyond jobs to examine living conditions for young residents, including housing, transportation, and cultural and leisure options, and review settlement improvement measures through coordination across relevant departments.

The city will also tailor policies to address differences across its districts. In the Soyo-Sangpae area, officials will examine specific safety-related inconveniences in daily life. In the Bulhyeon-Songnae area, the focus will be on sustaining the positive residential assessments already driving residents' intention to stay. In the Saengyeon-Jungang-Bosan area, where use of public facilities was relatively low, the city plans to review accessibility and operational arrangements.

The city will also explore ways to boost use of public facilities. The survey found that residents who do not use public facilities most commonly cited mismatched operating hours, lack of awareness about available facilities, and the absence of programs they wanted. Based on these findings, the city plans to expand regular and community-participation programs and strengthen promotion of facilities and programs, tailored to the conditions and demand at each site.

"This survey gave us a chance to understand how residents assess their current living conditions and what changes they need," Mayor Park Hyeong-deok said. "We will pay close attention not only to the economy, jobs and settlement conditions, but also to everyday inconveniences, and make sure the findings translate into real policy."