Seoul Metropolitan Council 2019 Civil Complaints Results: Most in Urban Planning Related to Redevelopment and Reconstruction

Rapid On-Site Civil Complaint Meetings and Investigations Increase by About 56% Compared to Last Year... Chairman Shin Won-cheol: "Will Use as Reference for Improving Life-Oriented Systems" and "Will Actively Support and Strive to Prioritize Citizens' Lives"

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] The Seoul Metropolitan Council (Chairman Shin Won-cheol) announced that it analyzed the civil complaints received and processed by the Seoul Metropolitan Council throughout 2019 by relevant standing committees and regions of occurrence. The results will be utilized for future institutional improvements, prevention of complaint recurrence, and support of legislative activities.

Examining the complaints by standing committee, out of a total of 467 cases, the ‘Urban Planning and Management Committee’ related to redevelopment and reconstruction had the highest number with 87 cases (18.6%). This was followed by the ‘Transportation Committee’ with 69 cases (14.8%) related to public transportation such as buses and subways, and the ‘Environment and Water Resources Committee’ with 49 cases (10.5%).

While complaints received annually generally ranked in the order of urban planning, transportation, and education, in 2019, the environment and water resources sector, which is responsible for parks, received a relatively large number of complaints.

This was analyzed to be due to the ‘2020 Urban Planning Facility Sunset Policy’ implementation, which caused a sudden increase in park-related complaints.

Based on the departments handling complaints, the Seoul Metropolitan Council directly processed 79 complaints, while the remaining 388 cases were forwarded to relevant institutions (Seoul City, autonomous districts, and central government, etc.) to ensure more meticulous handling through active cooperation with related agencies.

Additionally, the council acted as a bridge between complainants and responsible agencies, realizing a city council that communicates with citizens.

In particular, the Seoul Metropolitan Council actively promoted on-site activities to broadly collect citizens’ experiences and ideas from the citizens’ perspective and to resolve grievances. The proportion of on-site investigations and complaint meetings increased by approximately 56% compared to the previous year (from 88 to 137 sessions).

Furthermore, by region of complaint occurrence (based on autonomous districts), ‘Songpa-gu’ ranked first with 73 cases (15.6%), followed by ‘Dongjak-gu’ with 34 cases (7.3%) and ‘Jung-gu’ with 28 cases (6.0%). Songpa-gu was analyzed to have a significant increase in administrative service demand complaints on various topics.

Regarding the types of complaint handling results, the most common was cases where the complaint handling department provided accurate explanations of the facts to the complainants to persuade and help them understand, accounting for 179 cases (38.3%). Cases where complaints were resolved numbered 133 (28.5%).

Meanwhile, as a result of actively addressing complaints throughout the year with a focus on citizens’ convenience and safety, transportation facilities that citizens use and encounter daily in real life were neatly resolved as follows.

▲ Connected the previously disconnected bicycle paths around ○○ Apartment to ensure the safety of bicycle users

▲ Relocated and installed utility poles that were positioned in the center of exit number ○ at ○○ Station to improve mobility convenience

▲ Completely separated taxi stands installed in the ○○ bus-only lane to alleviate passenger inconvenience

▲ Installed facilities to prevent illegal left turns and U-turns at the ○○ intersection to prevent traffic accidents

▲ Changed the installation location of monitoring equipment to secure vehicle entry and exit space for newly constructed buildings

□ Chairman Shin Won-cheol stated, “The Seoul Metropolitan Council’s complaint analysis data will be used as important reference material for legislative activities.”

Chairman Shin Won-cheol added, “In the new year of the Year of the Rat, we will strive to make it a year that prioritizes citizens’ lives by listening attentively to the sincere voices of citizens and achieving visible results through ‘visiting’ and ‘warm’ protection of citizens’ rights and interests.”