Seongap Kim, Mayor of Gwangjin-gu, Presents Excellent Policy at Chamjoeun Local Autonomy Policy Conference

District Chief Kim's Presentation on 'The Role of Local Governments in Addressing the Population Cliff'... Introduction to Gwangjin-gu's 'Visiting Marriage and Family Positive Value Education' Program

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Kim Seon-gap, Mayor of Gwangjin District, participated as a presenter of excellent policies at the ‘Excellent Local Autonomy Policy Conference’ held on the 17th at the multipurpose hall of Seoul City Hall.

Hosted by the Excellent Local Government Council, the National Association of Mayors, County Governors, and District Heads, and the Presidential Committee on Autonomy and Decentralization, and organized by the Korean Local Autonomy Association, this policy conference was prepared to widely promote outstanding policies of local governments and create a lively exchange platform among regions, with participation from council members and non-member basic local government heads, civic groups related to decentralization, and citizens.

At this event, including Mayor Kim Seon-gap, a total of 14 regions such as Seoul’s Gwanak District, Guro District, Hwaseong City in Gyeonggi Province, Ansan City, and Yeonsu District in Incheon participated, presenting policies from each region and operating promotional booths for excellent local policies by region.

On this day, Mayor Kim gave a presentation titled ‘The Role of Local Governments in Resolving the Population Cliff.’ He began by saying, “The younger generation has a largely negative perception of marriage,” and “Education that can form positive values about marriage and family is necessary for elementary school students, who are at an important stage of forming life values.”

He then introduced the case of Gwangjin District, saying, “Our district held a meeting with elementary school principals to build consensus on education about positive values regarding family and marriage,” and “We formed a task force team consisting of school officials and external experts to discuss the direction of education promotion and developed educational lecture materials.”

Mayor Kim also stated, “The important foundation for creating the future of our society is people,” and proposed, “I suggest that schools, which are at the forefront of education, and local governments actively cooperate to carry out education that fosters positive values about family and marriage.”

Meanwhile, the district dispatched professional instructors to schools and conducted ‘Visiting Education for Forming Positive Values about Marriage and Family’ targeting 80 classes (1,792 students in grades 5 and 6) at 15 elementary schools in the region, with plans to continue this initiative in the future.