Yongin Establishes Sister City Relationship with Williamson County, Texas

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Choi Ki-ho] Yongin Special City and Williamson County, Texas established a sister city relationship on January 9 local time at the 'Williamson County Expo Center' in the United States.

Previously, on September 28 last year, Bill Gravell, representative of Williamson County, and his colleagues visited Yongin Mir Stadium, where the 'Yongin City Day' event was held, and established a sister city relationship. Mayor Lee Sang-il of Yongin made a reciprocal visit to Williamson County on January 9 afternoon (local time) to formalize the sister city relationship.

Williamson County resolved to proclaim January 9, the date of Mayor Lee's visit with the Yongin delegation, as 'Yongin City Day,' and expressed its warm welcome by installing an honorary road sign 'Yongin Boulevard (yongin Blvd)' on the road in front of the foundry facility that Samsung Electronics is constructing in Taylor, a city within Williamson County.

Local media outlet FOX News also covered the formalization of the sister city relationship between Yongin and Williamson County that day and interviewed Mayor Lee about the future prospects of mutual development between the two cities.

Mayor Lee Sang-il and Bill Gravell, representative of Williamson County, pledged through the sister city ceremony to establish new cutting-edge industrial foundations based on semiconductors and to actively cooperate in the fields of culture and education.

The ceremony was attended by Mayor Lee Sang-il, Bill Gravell, and Dwayne Ariola, mayor of Taylor, which belongs to Williamson County.

Officials from Williamson County and Taylor, as well as Minh Tran, chairman of the 'Greater Austin Asian Chamber of Commerce,' who held a discussion with Mayor Lee on the same morning to expand corporate exchange, also attended to celebrate the sister city relationship between the two cities.

Mayor Lee Sang-il said, "On September 28 last year at the 'Yongin Citizens Day' event, Yongin and Williamson County established a sister city relationship. Today, when the sister city ceremony is being held in Williamson County, they have designated today as 'Yongin City Day,' and I believe the citizens of Yongin will take great pride in this fact. The two cities, which share the common ground of being cities that have demonstrated innovative development based on cutting-edge industries including semiconductors, will seek cooperation plans that extend beyond industry to include culture and exchanges between university professors and students within the regions."

The mayor stated, "I am very grateful that 'Samsung Highway' was named on the road connecting the foundry production facility that Samsung Electronics is constructing in Taylor with an investment of approximately 54.5 trillion won with a completion target of 2030 and the existing expressway, and an honorary road sign 'Yongin Boulevard' was installed on the road in front of the factory. Yongin will also designate an honorary road name for Williamson County and install a sign. As the two cities that have begun mutual cooperation through establishing a sister city relationship, I will make efforts to ensure that our relationship matures in various fields."

Bill Gravell, representative of Williamson County, stated, "Yongin, which has established the world's leading semiconductor industry base, is a city with a very high level of culture and education, and an attractive city that we wish to exchange with in various fields. I was genuinely moved by the way Mayor Lee Sang-il and Yongin's public officials presented themselves when they visited Yongin last year, and the exchange with Yongin will expand in scope from economics and industry to culture and human exchange."

Dwayne Ariola, mayor of Taylor who attended the sister city agreement ceremony, also expressed great expectations for the development of the two cities.

Mayor Dwayne Ariola of Taylor said, "When I visited Yongin last year to establish a sister city relationship between Yongin and Williamson County, I felt that Korean people are very courteous and have a future-oriented mindset. I plan to introduce Yongin to schools and organizations in the region and develop programs where people can learn Korean culture."

Prior to the sister city ceremony, Mayor Lee met with Bill Gravell, representative of Williamson County, and officials from Texas State University at the Williamson County Courthouse in Georgetown, Williamson County, to discuss university exchange plans between the two cities.

The Williamson County Courthouse is the building where Bill Gravell's office is located and performs legal and administrative functions for Williamson County. Bill Gravell's title is Judge. According to Williamson County officials, it has been a long-standing tradition in county-level cities in Texas for a judge elected by local residents to serve as the head of administration and law.

Founded in 1899, Texas State University is the fifth-largest university in Texas. It has campuses in San Marcos and Round Rock in Texas and is currently constructing a new campus in Williamson County.

Williamson County and Texas State University expressed their desire to establish student and faculty exchange programs with universities in Yongin and requested Mayor Lee's support.

An official from Texas State University said, "We have currently signed student exchange agreements with three universities in the Republic of Korea, and we want to operate exchange programs with universities in Yongin. Texas State University has strengths in biotechnology and business administration, and with support from the government and various investment companies, we are fostering semiconductor-related programs. We expect good results from exchanging with universities in Yongin, a city centered on semiconductors."

Bill Gravell, representative of Williamson County, also proposed to Mayor Lee, "Along with cultural and economic exchange with Yongin, if we exchange faculty members with specialized knowledge, we could see even greater effects."

Mayor Lee Sang-il replied, "I empathize with the proposals from Texas State University and Williamson County, and I believe that cooperation between universities in the two regions will greatly contribute to the future development of the two cities. I will explore ways for Texas State University to exchange with nine universities in Yongin."

Meanwhile, Williamson County greatly welcomed Mayor Lee's visit on this day and announced plans to make efforts to widely publicize Yongin's culture and development throughout the region. Bill Gravell stated that gifts received from Yongin will be displayed in the most visible location in the exhibition hall of the new county building set to open in December this year, and that a festival related to 'Yongin City Day' is also being planned.

The Williamson County Administrative Board will hold a meeting to proclaim January 9 as 'Yongin City Day' and will encourage all county officials and local residents to participate in events to understand Yongin's culture.

Meanwhile, a county (County) in the United States is a larger administrative division than a city (City), and one county includes multiple cities. Williamson County oversees 27 cities including Taylor. As a rapidly growing city with approximately 4,000 new residents each month, Williamson County has a population of approximately 700,000 as of 2024.