Formation of Yeongdeungpo-gu Civil-Government-Public Regional Council

COVID-19 Economic Crisis Response: Yeongdeungpo-gu and 9 Public-Private Organizations Sign Agreement... Commitment to Strengthen Small Business Resilience and Revitalize Local Economy

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Yeongdeungpo-gu (District Mayor Chae Hyun-il) has signed an agreement with eight organizations to form a public-private-community regional council to revitalize the local economy, which has been stagnated due to COVID-19.

Recently, as the number of domestic COVID-19 confirmed cases recorded over 500 for two consecutive days, marking the full-scale third wave of the pandemic, the government's elevation of social distancing to Level 2 in the metropolitan area has further exacerbated the management difficulties faced by small businesses and self-employed individuals.

In response, the district has promoted the agreement to form a public-private-community regional council to resolve the management difficulties of small businesses and self-employed individuals, the foundation of the local economy, and to revitalize the regional economy.

On the 26th at 2 p.m., nine organizations centered around Yeongdeungpo-gu signed the public-private-community regional council agreement in the Planning Situation Room on the 3rd floor of the district office main building, pledging cooperation for local economic revitalization.

The nine organizations forming the council include the public sector (官): ▲Yeongdeungpo District Office ▲Yeongdeungpo Tax Office ▲Woori Bank; the public guarantee institution (公): Seoul Credit Guarantee Foundation; and the private sector (民): ▲Yeongdeungpo Chamber of Commerce and Industry ▲Yeongdeungpo Merchants Association ▲Yeongdeungpo Small Business and Self-Employed Association ▲Seoul Small Business Association ▲Seoul Entrepreneurs Association, totaling five private organizations.

Based on this agreement, the council members agreed to share information on the overall local economy and work together to establish and implement effective support policies for self-employed individuals.

The main points of the agreement include ▲seeking solutions to management difficulties of small businesses and self-employed individuals ▲enhancing cooperation for startup and employment support ▲building a field-oriented governance for cooperation in comprehensive support projects for self-employed individuals and efficient project execution ▲fostering local commercial districts through the spread of community and social economy ▲conducting policy research and development specialized for small businesses and self-employed individuals and analyzing local commercial districts.

After signing the agreement, the nine organizations, led by Yeongdeungpo-gu, shared the current status of the Yeongdeungpo commercial district development and local characteristics through the ‘Yeongdeungpo-gu Life-Related Business Commercial District Analysis’ report by the Commercial District Analysis Team of the Small Business Policy Research Center at the Seoul Credit Guarantee Foundation.

The agreement ceremony concluded with a free discussion on the role of the council and measures to revitalize the local economy.

Chae Hyun-il, Mayor of Yeongdeungpo-gu, said, “In response to the unprecedented economic crisis caused by COVID-19, the public, private, and community sectors are joining forces to create a flow of economic revitalization that connects neighborhood commercial districts, the local economy, and the national economy. We will overcome the crisis with the power of coexistence and build Yeongdeungpo into a prosperous economic city.”