Seoul District Mayors Association Holds 165th Regular Meeting... Lee Seong, Association President, "Step-by-step Return to Normal Life Approaching, Local Administration's Role Starts Now, Will Do Our Best in Quarantine Until Stabilization Phase"
[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] The Seoul Metropolitan Council of District Mayors (Chairman Lee Seong, Mayor of Guro District) held its 165th regular meeting on the morning of the 26th via an online video conference to discuss common issues among Seoul’s autonomous districts.
In his opening remarks, Chairman Lee Seong stated, “We are on the verge of a phased return to normal life, escaping the hardships caused by COVID-19, but the role of local administration begins now.” He added, “As the prolonged social distancing measures are eased, the risk of cluster infections remains. Therefore, I ask each district to do their utmost in quarantine efforts until we reach a stabilization phase.”
During the first part of the meeting, held jointly with the Seoul Metropolitan Government, three proposals to be submitted to Seoul were discussed: ▲Request to increase the unit cost for free meals for low-income seniors (Eunpyeong District), ▲Roles and financial contributions of central, metropolitan, and local governments for 2050 carbon neutrality (Seodaemun District), and ▲Request regarding the 2022 COVID-19 vaccination implementation expenses (Songpa District). All three proposals were approved as originally presented.
Following this, Seoul shared eight cooperation matters with the district mayors, including ▲Expansion of home treatment promotion (Administrative Bureau) and ▲Cooperation in applying for the 2022 Brain Lesion Disabled Vision Center establishment (Welfare Policy Office), requesting the districts’ cooperation.
In the second part, held as a council-only meeting, two agenda items were deliberated and approved: ▲Digital Tutor Project (Seongdong District) and ▲Unification of the 2022 Birth Celebration Grant into the First Meeting Voucher (Guro District). Additionally, two other matters were discussed: ▲Veterans’ Honor Allowance and School Admission Preparation Fund Promotion (Welfare Grand Negotiation TF) and ▲Comprehensive review of the adjustment of financial contributions for city subsidies (Financial Contribution Adjustment TF).
The ‘Digital Tutor Project (Seongdong District)’ proposes utilizing young people as digital tutors to respond to changes in the educational environment due to the transition to a digital-based future education system and the expansion of non-face-to-face online classes. Given the varying circumstances of each district, the project’s feasibility will be examined more thoroughly.
Also, the ‘Unification of the 2022 Birth Celebration Grant into the First Meeting Voucher (Guro District)’ suggests standardizing the current birth celebration grants, which differ by local government and cause side effects, by adopting the ‘First Meeting Voucher’ system to be implemented by the government from 2022. It was agreed to operate the system as proposed for the first and second children, while allowing autonomous operation from the third child onward depending on each district’s situation.
The council then received progress reports on the TFs it operates. The Welfare Grand Negotiation TF provided updates on the promotion of the ‘Veterans’ Honor Allowance’ and the ‘Elementary School Admission Preparation Fund Support’ project. The latter is a new initiative that provides a congratulatory grant of 200,000 KRW to elementary school entrants starting in 2022. The first target group, those entering school in 2022, numbers 68,108 students, with an estimated budget of approximately 13.6 billion KRW.
The Financial Contribution Adjustment TF shared the negotiation process between Seoul City and the autonomous districts regarding the ‘Adjustment of Financial Contributions for City Subsidies’ and exchanged views on future plans. Participants expressed concerns that Seoul’s attempt to cut the citizen participation budget, which has been maintained, ultimately signifies a regression in democracy.
In response, the council agreed to officially convey the consensus position of the district mayors on budget allocation and, depending on Seoul’s reply, plans to hold an emergency meeting next week to discuss countermeasures.
As for outstanding cases from the districts, nine excellent administrative initiatives were shared: ▲Operation of ‘Gwangjin Good Shop’ supporting online sales of excellent small and medium enterprises (Gwangjin District), ▲Spectacular transformation of problematic vacant houses (Dongdaemun District), ▲Resolution of shared land division tied up for 60 years (Seongbuk District), ▲Measures to prevent illegal brokerage and rental fraud (Gangbuk District), ▲Urban healing center, Health Healing Literature Museum (Yangcheon District), ▲‘Anyangcheon Landmark Project’ awarded at the Local Autonomy Management Competition (Guro District), ▲Seoul’s first senior convenience store ‘Come to the Good Store’ (Geumcheon District), ▲Eco-friendly campaign through tree-planting app OnTree (Songpa District), and ▲Gangnam District R.G Project (Gangnam District).
The meeting was attended by a total of 23 district mayors, including Chairman Lee Seong and five deputy mayors attending on behalf of their districts. From Seoul City, Executive Vice Mayor Jo In-dong and officials from related departments participated in the first part, the Seoul City-District Joint Meeting. Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon was unable to attend due to a scheduling conflict with an emergency meeting.
Meanwhile, the 166th regular meeting is scheduled to be held on November 28.
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