[Seoul District Award News] Guro-gu Receives High Praise for Efforts Like 'Resident Audit Ombudsman System,' 'Integrity Certification,' and 'Integrity Meal Ticket' to Foster a Clean Organizational Culture... Lee Jeong-hoon, Gangdong-gu Mayor, Wins 2021 Youth-Friendly Governance Grand Prize... Jongno-gu Wins Two AFHC Healthy City Awards, Gaining International Recognition for Policy Excellence... Dongdaemun-gu Selected as an Outstanding Institution in Public Service Ethics System Operation Evaluation
[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Guro-gu (Mayor Lee Sung) achieved an S grade in the Ministry of the Interior and Safety's '2021 Autonomous Internal Control Evaluation,' setting a record of receiving the highest grade for four consecutive years.
'Autonomous Internal Control' is a system established to prevent errors and corruption that may occur during work processes in advance and to enhance transparency and efficiency of work through the Cheongbaek-e system, self-diagnosis system, and public officials' self-management system.
The Ministry of the Interior and Safety evaluated 243 local governments nationwide (17 metropolitan, 226 basic) on the establishment of internal control operation bases, internal control activities, and activation.
As a result of the evaluation, Guro-gu achieved excellent results across detailed evaluation indicators such as the 'Cheongbaek-e system' that monitors various administrative information systems, the 'self-diagnosis system' where welfare, construction, and permit officers conduct self-prechecks, and the 'public officials' self-management system' to improve employees' ethical awareness. With a final score of 103 points, including 3 bonus points on a perfect score of 100, it received an S grade, ranking within the top 5% among local governments nationwide.
Guro-gu has implemented various policies to prevent corruption and improve integrity. These include the 'Integrity Certification System' that manages individual and departmental integrity tasks regularly, the 'Ombudsman Hearing Attendance System' where an ombudsman attends hearings before administrative sanctions, and various integrity education programs to raise employees' ethical awareness. Additionally, through recall systems such as integrity text messages, mobile surveys, and integrity happy calls, it ensured fair handling of tasks and listened to residents' inconveniences.
Furthermore, it operates systems such as the 'Citizen Audit Ombudsman,' the first in basic local governments nationwide that allows audits of the mayor's activities, and the 'Integrity Meal Ticket' to eradicate entertainment expenses.
A Guro-gu official stated, "The efforts of all employees to create a corruption-free and integrity public service culture have resulted in four consecutive S grades in 'Autonomous Internal Control.' We will do our best to maintain 'Integrity Guro,' trusted by residents, based on the belief that integrity is fundamental for public officials."
Lee Jung-hoon, Mayor of Gangdong-gu, attended the '2021 5th Youth Day' event held at the Peace Plaza in Olympic Park on the 6th and received the Grand Prize in the 2021 Youth-Friendly Governance Awards.
The district announced that it was selected as an excellent basic local government for youth policies for three consecutive years, winning the 'Communication Division Grand Prize' in 2019, the 'Comprehensive Grand Prize' in 2020, and the 'Comprehensive Grand Prize' again in the 2021 Youth-Friendly Governance Awards.
The Youth-Friendly Governance Awards are hosted by the 'Youth and Future Association,' under the National Assembly Secretariat, and awarded through a selection committee composed of about 100 experts and youth selectors, recognizing institutions that contributed to creating youth-friendly environments in policy, legislation, and communication.
Gangdong-gu was honored with the comprehensive grand prize for its high evaluation in youth participation policies and youth communication activation.
Gangdong-gu is promoting various policies for youth in employment, start-ups, culture, and housing. It operates the 'Youth Haenaem Center,' a start-up support center, 'Youth Work-Play Town,' and 'Youth Startup Housing,' a residential space for youth startups, supporting youth entrepreneurship. In particular, it operates the Seoul Youth Center 'Gangdong Orang,' a comprehensive support center for youth policies in the southeastern region of Seoul, enhancing accessibility to youth policies and linking customized support projects for youth.
Additionally, the district leads voluntary and proactive youth participation through various projects such as the Gangdong Youth Network operation, Gangdong-gu Youth Enterprise Co-Growth Project, and Gangdong Youth Festival.
On the day of the event, Mayor Lee Jung-hoon participated with youth involved in Gangdong-gu's youth policy activities, making it a meaningful time.
Mayor Lee Jung-hoon said, "I thank all those involved who have dedicated themselves to youth development and rights enhancement. The district will continue to do its best to implement youth policies that reach youth through communication and empathy with them," expressing his award acceptance remarks.
Jongno-gu was honored with two awards in the '2021 Healthy City Awards' at the 9th Western Pacific Healthy Cities Alliance International Conference.
The Healthy City Awards are presented at the international conference hosted biennially by the Alliance for Healthy Cities (AFHC). This year, the conference was held online from November 3 to 5 in Hong Kong.
Jongno-gu won two awards in the Creative Development of Healthy Cities category: ▲Green space creation and walkable city within the city and ▲Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for healthy cities.
Following its triple presidential awards in 2021 for the Korea City Awards, Regional Innovation, and Korea Knowledge Awards, this international conference award further recognized the excellence of its policies globally.
In the green space creation and walkable city category, Jongno-gu was highly praised for its continuous efforts such as 'Garden City Jongno,' 'Creating Eco-Friendly Parking Lots,' 'Creating Eco-Friendly Sidewalks and Stairs,' 'Emptying the City,' and the 'More Benches Project,' aiming to make Jongno greener and a more walkable space.
It also received acclaim for the successful creation of the 'Donui-dong Saetteul Village,' winning in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) category for healthy cities.
Jongno-gu currently serves as the chair city of the Korea Healthy Cities Association and plans to strengthen domestic and international network cooperation and lead the dissemination of best practices to enhance its status as a national representative healthy city through this award.
Kim Young-jong, Mayor of Jongno-gu, said, "I am very pleased that the healthy city projects that Jongno-gu has continuously pursued over a long time have borne fruit with this award. We will continue to incorporate the concept of 'health' into overall district administration and present substantial projects to serve as a model healthy city globally, improving residents' health and quality of life," he commented.
Dongdaemun-gu (Mayor Yoo Deok-yeol) was selected as an excellent institution (commendation: Encouragement District) in the 2020 Public Service Ethics System Operation Inspection conducted by Seoul Metropolitan Government.
Seoul conducts annual inspections of autonomous districts to ensure the sound operation of the public service ethics system. Dongdaemun-gu received high evaluations in all areas, including ▲property registration system operation, ▲retired public officials employment restriction system operation, and ▲public officials ethics committee operation, and was selected as one of five excellent institutions among 25 autonomous districts.
The district has actively worked to secure fairness in public service execution through the fair and transparent operation of the public service ethics system. This year, in October, it established a plan designating real estate-related departments to prevent illicit property accumulation using job-related information in advance. Employees in real estate-related departments are required to register property regardless of rank, restricting new acquisitions of job-related real estate, accelerating the creation of a clean public service society.
Yoo Deok-yeol, Mayor of Dongdaemun-gu, emphasized the importance of public service ethics, saying, "Public service ethics is an essential virtue that public officials, as servants of the people, must have. We will continue to firmly establish public service ethics through more sound operation of the public service ethics system. Furthermore, we will do our best to create a clean Dongdaemun-gu trusted by residents."
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