Gwangju Seo-gu, Fully Committed to Realizing Autonomous, Welfare, and Health Communities in the 7th Elected Term

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Shin Dong-ho] Seo-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City (Mayor Seo Dae-seok) has been making every effort to realize a community of autonomy, welfare, and health during the 7th local government administration.

According to Seo-gu on the 23rd, resident autonomy achieved remarkable results by being selected as the best case nationwide for five consecutive years at the National Resident Autonomy Expo.

In the welfare sector, based on accumulated welfare know-how, Seo-gu has successfully carried out the government-led Community Integrated Care Project, becoming a benchmarking target for other local governments.

As the first basic local government, Seo-gu is also solidly establishing the foundation of a healthy community by producing health maps by neighborhood.

Mayor Seo Dae-seok has worked to improve welfare for vulnerable groups based on Seo-gu’s unique welfare know-how accumulated since the first local government administration. A representative example is the Community Integrated Care Pilot Project.

Community Integrated Care is a community-led social service that fundamentally changes the care paradigm so that anyone in need of care, such as the elderly, disabled, and mentally ill, can live a healthy life where they have always lived.

Building on the achievements so far, from this year, the project is being expanded into a converged integrated care pilot project that includes not only the elderly but also the mentally ill and disabled.

Entering the third year of the 7th local government administration, Seo-gu introduced welfare services on a new level.

One such service is AI care service utilizing artificial intelligence. The increase in care demand for the elderly due to the ultra-aged society, the need for non-face-to-face services amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and the development of the 4th Industrial Revolution accelerated the introduction of AI care.

First, as part of the Community Integrated Care Project, an AI voice bot is being deployed to call care recipients to check on their well-being and health.

The COVID-19 pandemic, which began early last year, had no effective measures beyond mask-wearing and social distancing to prevent spread.

Seo-gu urgently formed three dedicated epidemiological investigation teams and focused all efforts on rapid and accurate investigations to block the spread.

They are also promoting dementia care robots for elderly dementia patients.

Mayor Seo Dae-seok has also devoted much effort to job creation immediately after taking office, including the Job Committee.

A representative example is the ‘Cheongchun Balsan Workshop,’ where career counselors reside and assist youth with employment and entrepreneurship through job fairs and company visits.

Various job projects are underway, including a VR (Virtual Reality) interview experience center, operation of non-face-to-face job kiosks, operation of the Job Support Center website, and the Hope Job Project.

Mayor Seo Dae-seok extended the operating hours of the Sangnok Library’s comprehensive reference room until 10 p.m., the first among the five autonomous districts of Gwangju.

In April last year, Seo-gu declared the ‘Future Vision of a Reading Specialized City,’ making books and culture a daily part of life and creating a Seo-gu full of the scent of books.

First, Seo-gu offers a unique book delivery service. Seo-gu provides a service that delivers books to 22 small libraries, smart libraries, and the district public library, allowing residents to easily borrow and return books near their homes.

In January, Seo-gu declared a climate crisis emergency response and established a comprehensive Seo-gu Green New Deal plan. The goal is to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045.

Having declared itself a carbon-neutral city, Seo-gu is focusing most on expanding the supply of renewable energy.

So far, solar power generators and solar water heating systems have been installed in 376 houses and buildings around Hwajeong 3-dong, and installations are underway in Sangmu 1 and 2-dong to expand energy self-reliant villages.

Additionally, Seo-gu encourages voluntary recycling by residents, the final consumers, by installing recycling collection points in residential areas and supporting the installation of food waste reducers.

To establish a healthy city foundation, Seo-gu published ‘Healthy Seo-gu is Good! Our Neighborhood Health Map,’ the first among autonomous districts.

The health map contains comparative and analytical data on 37 health indicators such as health habits, chronic diseases, and mental health by 18 neighborhoods in Seo-gu, based on community health survey data from the past five years to promote customized health and medical policies.

Mayor Seo Dae-seok said, “Now is the time to unite our strength not only to overcome the COVID-19 crisis but also for a new leap forward. We will fill in the gaps for early overcoming of COVID-19, complete realization of resident autonomy, completion of the Seo-gu type integrated welfare model, and a healthy Seo-gu.”