Daejeon mayor continues 'mutual growth' tour in historic downtown

Daejeon held its second "mutual growth and empathy" tour, a public engagement initiative, in the historic downtown area of Jung-gu.

Daejeon Mayor Heo Tae-jeong visited the construction site of the new Jungbu Fire Station in Busa-dong on Wednesday, then met with about 300 Jung-gu residents at the Christian Union Service Center to share the city's administrative vision and key policies for the ninth elected term and hear their concerns directly.

As his first stop, Heo visited the Daejeon Jungbu Fire Station construction site, a long-sought project for Jung-gu residents. The station project began with master planning and site acquisition during the seventh elected term, and construction started in September after completing design and other procedures. The facility will rise four stories above ground at 126-5 Busa-dong, with a total floor area of about 3,518 square meters.

Jung-gu has until now been covered by the Dongbu, Seobu and Dunsan fire stations without a dedicated station of its own. Once the Jungbu Fire Station is built, it is expected to serve as a hub for disaster response in the district, enabling faster dispatch and helping secure critical response windows.

At the site, Heo received a briefing on the project's progress and listened to residents before speaking. "The Jungbu Fire Station is a project Jung-gu residents have long awaited, so we will manage safety and construction schedules rigorously to ensure it is completed without delay by 2028," he said.

At the subsequent community dialogue held at the Christian Union Service Center, Heo outlined the city's vision and priorities for the ninth elected term. He announced that the city would provide 1 billion won ($751,000) each in special adjustment grants — 2 billion won in total — toward the construction of the Munchang Public Library and a Jung-gu senior welfare center, both proposed by the district, and said the city would also consider additional municipal funding as each project advances.

The Munchang Public Library is planned as a school-community complex within Munchang Elementary School, spanning one below-ground floor to four above-ground floors with a total floor area of about 3,790 square meters. It will include a reading room, reference room, multipurpose auditorium and cultural spaces.

To address the growing elderly population in Jung-gu and meet rising senior welfare demand, the city will also provide 1 billion won in special adjustment grants for the Jung-gu senior welfare center and plans to contribute an additional 4.3 billion won in municipal funds — equivalent to 30 percent of construction costs — in line with project progress. The welfare center will be built on the site of the former Nam Daejeon Registry Office in Busa-dong, spanning one below-ground floor to three above-ground floors with a total floor area of about 2,537 square meters.

The community dialogue drew a range of proposals from residents on local development and quality-of-life issues. Residents called for the preservation and adaptive reuse of the former Daejeon Provincial Office — the city's first city hall building — as well as the construction of a cultural facility at Seo-Daejeon Plaza, expanded amenities at bus stops, and improvements to the traffic signal system at Sungmo Five-way Intersection.

On the preservation and reuse of the former Daejeon Provincial Office, the city explained that the project is not suspended but is under review and adjustment. It plans to tidy up the grounds before construction begins so the space can serve as a public cultural area in the interim, with a detailed reuse plan to follow based on residents' input.

Regarding the proposal to build a cultural facility at Seo-Daejeon Plaza, the city said it would need to carefully weigh the plaza's role as a public rest space alongside unresolved legal issues related to past land acquisition before making any decision.

The city said it would expand public transit amenities — including heated and cooled seating and bus information terminals — at bus stops next year through the budget process, taking into account conditions in each autonomous district. On the Sungmo Five-way Intersection signal system, the city said it would maintain the current configuration for pedestrian safety while continuing to monitor traffic flow and review possible improvements.

"In the ninth elected term, we will strengthen cooperation between the city and its districts and actively reflect the voices we hear on the ground in our policies," Heo said. "We will resolve the long-standing wishes of Jung-gu residents, bring new vitality to the historic downtown, and do our utmost so that citizens can feel the change in their daily lives."