Songpa-gu, One Year of COVID-19 Prevention Achievements with Residents?

Resident Participation 'Jayeol Bangjaedan' Leads Disinfection Activities at Public Multi-use Facilities... 5,100 Participants Over 1 Year, Disinfected 18,000 Locations

Park Seong-su, Mayor of Songpa District, is conducting disinfection work at sports facilities together with the private special quarantine team.

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Songpa-gu (Mayor Park Seong-su) announced on the 27th that voluntary quarantine activities by residents, including the Autonomous Disaster Prevention Group, have played a significant role in responding to infectious diseases as the first anniversary of the occurrence of COVID-19 in the area approaches.

The district reported its first confirmed COVID-19 case on February 5 last year. This was relatively early compared to Seoul, following the first domestic confirmed case on January 20 of the same year. As of January 26 this year, there have been 1,331 confirmed cases, 921 recoveries, and 10 deaths.

Accordingly, the district has devoted great effort over the past year to preventing the spread of COVID-19 within the area.

They continuously operated on-site inspection teams for facilities with a high risk of group infections, such as religious and entertainment facilities, and formed the nation’s first “Songpa-gu Internet Quarantine Team,” working to protect the privacy of confirmed patients and prevent secondary damage to visited businesses.

Additionally, from November 20 last year, they created a separate “District-Hosted Event Quarantine Customized Manual” to fully focus on infectious disease response tailored to local conditions.

Meanwhile, the Autonomous Disaster Prevention Group, led by residents, has been a great help in preventing blind spots in quarantine.

The Songpa-gu Autonomous Disaster Prevention Group (Director Kim Hyun-soon) is a legally recognized private organization under the Natural Disaster Countermeasures Act, established in 2010 to allow residents familiar with local conditions to voluntarily participate in disaster prevention in the area.

Currently, it consists of 276 residents from 27 neighborhoods, actively engaged in all areas related to disaster preparedness, response, and recovery.

In particular, last year, to prevent the local spread of COVID-19, they formed a private special quarantine team on March 6, taking the lead in disinfecting public multi-use facilities. Over the past year, a total of 5,170 people participated, disinfecting 18,640 locations including subway entrances, playgrounds, parks, and public transportation stops.

Recognizing these efforts, the group received the “Safety Award of the Year” at the 6th Seoul Metropolitan Government Safety Awards last year, and the Ogeum-dong Autonomous Disaster Prevention Group (Director Lee Sang-hoon) was awarded the Minister of the Interior and Safety Commendation at the “2020 National Disaster Management Meritorious Service” hosted by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety.

The district plans to strengthen quarantine through the Autonomous Disaster Prevention Group once public multi-use facilities fully reopen. They intend to focus on disinfecting facilities used by vulnerable groups, such as local children’s centers and Songpa Care Centers, to ensure no quarantine blind spots remain.

Mayor Park Seong-su stated, “Songpa-gu, home to the largest population in Seoul with 670,000 residents, remains vigilant against any potential increase in local spread and is thoroughly committed to quarantine activities. Moving forward, we will continue to build a thorough local safety network in cooperation with residents and carry out proactive quarantine measures to make Songpa a safe and secure place to live.”