Park Chan-dae and the heads of Incheon's 11 counties and districts gathered for the first time, saying they would 'seek Incheon's development as one team,' Kyunghyang Shinmun reported, with joint response to local issues the theme.

A metropolitan region develops more effectively when its cities, counties and districts cooperate across silos. Cross-boundary tasks like transport, industry and finance are hard to solve by a single local government alone, so a 'one team' meeting can be a starting point for building that cooperation.

Incheon holds layered challenges—ports, an airport and industrial parks alongside old-town regeneration and population shifts. Setting shared priorities where interests may diverge determines the substance of cooperation.

Analysts note that to avoid a one-off declaration, the effort needs concrete action items and a review system. The key is whether it yields results residents can feel.

Sinophone Bridge Times hopes local cooperation leads to real improvements in residents' lives. Incheon is a city where overseas-Chinese history and community are deeply rooted, so development talks bear directly on Chinese residents' lives too.