Seongdong-gu Ranks as the 'Most Trusted Autonomous District' in Seoul City Survey

Leading and Proactive Administration Drives Resident Trust... District Trust Higher than Central Government and Metropolitan Entities

Last month, the oldest senior in the area visited the Seongdong-gu Vaccination Center to receive the COVID-19 vaccine and had a conversation with Jung Won-oh, the mayor of Seongdong-gu.

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Seongdong-gu (Mayor Jung Won-oh) ranked first in resident trust among the 25 autonomous districts in Seoul.

Seongdong-gu's proactive and innovative administrative services are considered to have been key in gaining residents' trust, as evidenced by being selected as the best civil service institution nationwide for four consecutive years and achieving the highest public institution integrity rating for two consecutive years (as of the end of 2020).

According to the '2020 Seoul Survey Urban Policy Indicator Survey' announced by Seoul City last April, the resident trust score for Seongdong-gu was 5.37 out of 10, the highest among the 25 autonomous districts.

The average score among the 25 districts was 5.04. Notably, residents of Seongdong-gu showed greater trust in the district government (5.37) than in the central government (4.99) and metropolitan local government (5.23).

This strong trust from residents is evaluated to be based on Seongdong-gu's leading and proactive administrative services.

So far, Seongdong-gu was the first to propose the concept of 'essential workers' who perform on-site face-to-face work to maintain social functions during disasters such as COVID-19, and enacted and implemented an ordinance to support and protect them, which recently led to legislation in the National Assembly.

In addition, through projects such as the 'Seongdong-type Smart Crosswalk,' which integrates smart technology, and the 'Safe School Route Project,' developed in collaboration with residents based on big data, Seongdong-gu has become the district with the fewest pedestrian traffic accidents among the 25 districts over the past three years.

As a result of such proactive administration, Seongdong-gu was selected as the best institution for four consecutive years in the comprehensive civil service evaluation conducted by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety in 2020, targeting 304 institutions nationwide, and achieved the highest integrity rating among autonomous districts for two consecutive years in the 2020 integrity evaluation conducted by the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, which covered 580 public institutions nationwide.

Furthermore, Seongdong-gu achieved the highest (SA) rating for three consecutive years in the nationwide basic local government mayor pledge fulfillment evaluation conducted by the Korea Manifesto Practice Headquarters in 2020, enhancing its status as an autonomous district that keeps its promises to residents. As of March 2021, the fulfillment rate of pledges in the 7th local government term was 83.4%, with a 100% fulfillment rate in the economic and safety sectors.

Even amid the nationwide COVID-19 pandemic, Seongdong-gu's administrative capabilities shone during each crisis. During the so-called 'mask crisis' in March last year, the district quickly secured KF94 masks and distributed them to residents through each neighborhood community center, operated Seoul's first screening clinic equipped with negative pressure facilities, and introduced the nation's first contactless mobile electronic log, demonstrating rapid and accurate response.

In February, Seongdong-gu was selected as the first district in Seoul to establish a regional vaccination center, leading the creation of a standard model for regional vaccination centers installed within Seoul.

Seongdong-gu plans to continue focusing on realizing a 'Vibrant Seongdong Together' based on residents' trust.

Jung Won-oh, Mayor of Seongdong-gu, said, "From the standpoint of a basic local government closest to residents' lives, residents' trust is the most important driving force of administration. In that sense, it is a joyful and honorable achievement that Seongdong-gu ranked first among Seoul's 25 autonomous districts in the trust evaluation conducted for the first time in 2020."

He added, "We will not be complacent and will do our best to gain even deeper trust from residents with a humbler attitude."

Meanwhile, the '2020 Seoul Survey Urban Policy Indicator Survey' was conducted from September 14 to October 30, 2020, targeting 40,085 Seoul citizens (household members).

The institutional trust item was surveyed for the first time in 2020, with a sampling error of ±0.49% at a 95% confidence level.