Incheon locals welcome passage of Maritime Court Act in Subcommittee

Incheon civic groups have welcomed the passage of the court organization act and related amendment proposal to establish specialized maritime courts in Incheon and Busan through a subcommittee of the National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee. Maritime courts handle maritime civil and administrative cases such as ship collisions and marine insurance, as well as international commercial cases. The bills passed in the subcommittee are collectively known as the Maritime Court Organization Act. Incheon Metropolitan City and local communities have emphasized that Incheon, home to an international airport and Incheon Port, is the most suitable location for a maritime court. Similar bills were introduced in the 20th and 21st National Assemblies but were discarded after failing to pass.

Incheon Institute proposes transition to 30-minute commute city 

A policy proposal has been released calling for Incheon to move away from its reputation as a city that takes 1.5 hours to commute from Seoul, and transition into a transportation city where a 30-minute commute is possible. To do this, the proposal made by the Incheon Institute calls for reorganization of transportation corridors, innovation in transfer systems, and adoption of future mobility. The findings from its planning research project titled “30-Minute Transportation City: Smart Metropolitan Transit Bringing Incheon Closer” diagnosed the structural limitations of Incheon's transportation system and presented a comprehensive improvement strategy. It showed average daily commuting time between major metropolitan areas reached 116 minutes, while commuting from Incheon to Gyeonggi-do and Seoul averaged 150 minutes.

Incheon Fire Department expands mental health support or firefighters

The Incheon Fire Department will expand support measures to care for the mental health of firefighters. The department plans to increase the number of professional counselors in its “mobile counseling service” from 10 to 15 and assign counselors to each fire station. A survey conducted last year showed that 213 out of 3,427 firefighters in Incheon, or 6.2 percent, were experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder. This figure represents a decrease of 0.2 to 0.8 percentage points across indicators compared to the 2024 survey.

Ongjin-gun strengthens communication with residents through West Sea Island visits 

Incheon’s Ongjin-gun has completed New Year visits to Baengnyeong-myeon and Daecheong-myeon, the northernmost islands in the West Sea, to meet with residents. The visits, which took place over two days, were arranged to directly hear opinions from residents of the five West Sea islands, which are difficult to access due to distance, and to seek solutions to key local issues. During discussions with residents, expansion of transportation infrastructure was a key topic, including the introduction of large car ferries on the Baengnyeong route and construction of Baengnyeong Airport.

Seo-gu to conduct additional survey on ‘Seohae-gu’ name change

Incheon’s Seo-gu will conduct an additional public opinion survey regarding the proposed new district name, “Seohae-gu.” The survey comes amid Incheon’s upcoming administrative system reform. The survey will target 2,000 residents aged 18 or older living in Seo-gu areas that will be separated from Geomdan-gu under the administrative restructuring scheduled for July. The survey will run through February 20th. Seo-gu plans to collect opinions on awareness, agreement, and expected effects of the new name through a mobile survey conducted by a professional research agency.

Incheon recruits trainees for 2026 Farming and Rural Settlement Program

The Incheon Agricultural Technology Center will begin recruiting participants for the 17th comprehensive training program for farming and rural settlement. Recruitment will begin on the 10th. The program is designed for citizens preparing to return to farming or live in rural areas, to support successful settlement through systematic basic farming education and agricultural information. Classes will be held every Monday or Wednesday from March 9 to June 29. Reflecting recent trends, the program includes information on farming policies, basic agricultural skills, smart-farm cultivation practice, business marketing, startup strategies, and on-site farm training. The course consists of 20 sessions totaling 100 hours.

Sources: https://news.ifm.kr