Yoo Dong-gyun, Mayor of Mapo-gu, Traces Three Years of the 7th Elected Term for a 'Bigger and Happier Mapo'

Two-Track Strategy for Achieving Community Herd Immunity and Revitalizing Local Economy in District Administration... October Mapo Naru Saeujeot Festival to Symbolize Overcoming COVID-19

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] “The past three years have been a nonstop run fueled by the belief that when public officials run, the residents are happy. How could there be no regrets?”

Yoo Dong-gyun, Mayor of Mapo District Office, expressed that as the 3rd anniversary of the 7th local government term approached, he had many things he wanted to do for the residents, but time passed too quickly.

Mayor Yoo outlined the direction of district administration for the remaining period, stating, “We will successfully complete the ongoing projects and simultaneously strengthen Mapo’s capabilities as a cultural tourism city, which is one of the district’s strengths, laying the foundation for Mapo’s re-leap.”

Let us look back on the past three years of Mayor Yoo’s efforts to create a ‘bigger and happier Mapo’ through communication and innovation.

◇ Major achievements of the 7th local government term focused solely on ‘residents’ happiness’?

The project Mayor Yoo is most proud of during the 7th local government term is ‘MH Mapo Housing.’ As the first basic local government to support temporary residences and public rental housing, ‘MH Mapo Housing’ has become a beacon of hope and a home for residents who have lost their place due to various crises, establishing itself as an innovative welfare policy representing Mapo.

Currently, the district operates a total of 30 ‘MH Mapo Housing’ locations. So far, 50 households have lived there, and among the 23 households that have moved out, 20 have been linked to government public rental housing and are living stable lives. Mayor Yoo stated, “Our goal is to secure 95 ‘MH Mapo Housing’ units within my term,” adding, “If the current trend continues, we expect to exceed this goal.”

Having lived in Mapo for nearly half a century and recognized as a ‘Mapo expert,’ Mayor Yoo has been praised for implementing customized administration that reflects the district’s characteristics well. He is particularly interested in life-centered projects that improve residents’ quality of life.

First, to alleviate the most frequent resident complaint?parking difficulties?he has paid more attention than anyone else to expanding parking spaces, including constructing the Manri Reservoir slope and Mangwon Interchange parking lots. To protect residents’ health from fine dust, the district has launched Seoul’s first ‘5 million tree planting’ initiative.

Other projects prioritizing residents’ convenience include the introduction of a five-day-a-week household waste collection system, comprehensive maintenance of clothing collection boxes, Seoul’s first introduction of tablets for large waste applications, 24-hour opening of public institution restrooms, installation of mobile CCTV to crack down on illegal dumping, and expansion of nearby community sports facilities, all of which have received positive feedback from residents.

Meanwhile, the core pillars of Mapo District’s administration during the 7th local government term are ‘communication’ and ‘innovation.’ To address the unsettled local sentiment following the government’s announcement last August on expanding housing supply in Sangam-dong, Mayor Yoo operated a 24-hour ‘On-site Mayor’s Office’ in front of the district office main gate. Since April 15, he has continued his on-site communication efforts by opening the nation’s first ‘On-site Mayor’s Office’ at the COVID-19 vaccination center.

Additionally, communication channels have been expanded through the online and offline resident communication platform ‘Mapo 1st Street,’ SNS communication systems, conflict mediation systems, and operation of Smart Mapo TV. The district has also launched pilot projects for resident autonomy committees, operated the neighborhood safety patrol ‘Mapo Citizen Patrol,’ and held the Mapo Cooperation Festival, creating an open collaborative space where residents directly participate in district administration.

Under the value of ‘Be the best or be the first,’ great effort has been devoted to discovering various innovative policies unique to Mapo. This was the driving force behind bold and innovative quarantine measures during the COVID-19 crisis, such as constructing a new screening clinic equipped with negative pressure control devices and walk-through testing booths throughout, operating a dedicated COVID-19 call center, and becoming the first in the nation to designate all staff as on-site epidemiological investigators.

Other pioneering initiatives include the ‘Anything Consultation Desk’ that helps solve residents’ problems without limiting the scope of work, free education support for middle school students, support for installing emergency escape devices in small houses vulnerable to fire, and IoT-based fine dust reduction benches, all realized for the first time nationwide or in Seoul, showcasing the innovation and excellence of Mapo District administration.

◇ ‘Welfare Mapo’ where everyone prospers together

Mayor Yoo, who places the ‘pain points’ at the center of district administration, emphasizes welfare administration as a pillar for residents by investing more than half of this year’s budget in social welfare to protect the vulnerable, the weakest link in disasters, more robustly.

Projects such as operating the Care SOS Center, constructing the Yeomni Comprehensive Social Welfare Center, building a Daycare Center, expanding national and public daycare centers and neighborhood care centers, supporting single mothers and fathers with childcare expenses, enacting universal design ordinances, protecting job seekers’ rights and countering hiring corruption, and establishing women’s centers for reporting sexual violence and protecting women’s rights have been rapidly implemented compared to other local governments with care and consideration for socially vulnerable groups.

In particular, the ‘Brain Lesion Disabled Vision Center,’ which opened nationwide for the first time last March, provides one-stop comprehensive services including education, care, and health for severely brain lesion-disabled individuals who find it difficult to advance to higher education or employment. This reflects Mayor Yoo’s determination not only to improve the independence of the disabled but also to carefully address the heavy caregiving burden on family members.

◇ Mapo, where ‘possibility’ breathes with hope that tomorrow will be better

The district is planning various projects to revitalize the local economy frozen by the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic. A representative example is ‘Mashola (Mapo Shopping Live),’ launched in April as Seoul’s first live commerce broadcast.

This is a live commerce broadcast produced by the district to promote and help sell products of local small business owners. In addition, the district is expanding the issuance of Mapo Love Gift Certificates, supporting marketing costs necessary for online open market entry, and leading efforts to improve the business environment for street vendors, focusing on strengthening small business competitiveness and revitalizing neighborhood commercial districts.

With the belief that ‘jobs are the best welfare,’ the district continuously discovers customized local job projects and closely cooperates with local companies and institutions.

Especially since the youth population accounts for nearly 30%, emphasis is placed on institutional support for youth to successfully become independent, and youth job policies are being promoted.

Since the first step taken in 2019 with the ‘Mapo Typeface Development Project,’ the ‘Mapo-style Youth Job Project’ has been operating for three years as a distinctive representative job project unique to Mapo.

This year, 50 young people aspiring to work in app development, UI/UX design, and broadcasting content production fields were selected and have been receiving education and practical experience since March.

Additionally, various programs such as the ‘Mapo-style Youth Employment Internship Project’ and ‘Local Industry Customized Job Project’ are operated to help youth and career-interrupted women find employment.

Meanwhile, to prepare for changing administrative demands in the post-COVID-19 era, the district is moving swiftly by promoting ‘smart administration’ utilizing the latest information and communication technologies (ICT) such as big data, Internet of Things (IoT), and artificial intelligence (AI).

The vanguard of smart administrative innovation is the AI companion robot ‘Mapodongi.’ Since March, the district has provided Mapodongi, an AI companion robot in the form of a stuffed doll modeled after the district character, to 400 local elderly people in need of care, pioneering non-face-to-face community care innovation nationwide.

Also, non-face-to-face health management services based on AI and IoT are being provided to about 600 elderly people aged 65 or older with poor medical accessibility.

Along with this, the district is making multifaceted efforts to actively utilize big data, known as the ‘crude oil’ of the 4th Industrial Revolution era, throughout administration by introducing a ‘customized commercial district analysis platform’ using big data and developing a ‘Ddareungi Commercial District Analysis Map.’

◇ Future vision of Mapo?

Regarding the top priority for the remaining period, Mayor Yoo emphasized overcoming COVID-19 through safe vaccination since the pandemic has not yet ended. To ensure safe and rapid vaccination for residents, an additional COVID-19 vaccination center will open at Mapo Art Center on July 5.

Furthermore, the district is concentrating administrative power to achieve herd immunity among Mapo residents by the end of September, planning various incentive measures to encourage residents to get vaccinated.

Mayor Yoo expressed his aspiration, saying, “We want to successfully hold the 13th Mapo Naru Salted Shrimp Festival during the third week of October (15?17) to declare nationwide that Mapo District has been liberated from COVID-19 and to give new hope to residents.”

Also, placing ‘tourism’ as the keyword to revive the local economy, the district aims to invigorate the tourism industry, which was hit hard by COVID-19, by designating the ‘Hongdae Tourism Special Zone.’ Various customized tourism projects such as the ‘Hongdae Festival Street Plaza,’ ‘Top 10 Walkable Paths in Mapo,’ ‘Mapo Tour Bus,’ ‘Mapo Tourist Attractions Cyber Tour,’ and ‘Mapo Tourism YouTube Channel’ are being promoted to prepare ahead for capturing tourism demand in the post-COVID-19 era.

Moreover, large-scale investment projects currently underway include the creation of the Mapo Retention Basin Hallyu Performance Tourism Complex, the construction of the Danginri Cultural Space and resident convenience facilities within the Seoul Combined Thermal Power Plant, the establishment of the Mapo Publishing and Printing Smart Anchor to enhance small business self-sustainability, the development project around DMC and Susaek Station as a hub for northwest metropolitan railway and inter-Korean exchange, and the third phase of the Gyeongui Line Linear Forest, which has borne fruit after seven years. These projects aim to continuously expand cultural tourism infrastructure and enhance the value of the region.

Mayor Yoo, who is rolling up his sleeves for livelihood stabilization and creating a city where the belief and hope that tomorrow will be better and ‘possibility’ breathes, emphasized, “We will lay the groundwork for Mapo’s re-leap so that Mapo can become a source of pride for its residents.”