Ministry of the Interior and Safety Achieves Double Championship in '21 Resident Life Innovation Case Expansion Support Project'... ▲ Book Payback Service: Full Refund for Books Purchased at Local Bookstores Returned Within 3 Weeks ▲ Runway-Style Crosswalk: Advanced Traffic Safety Facility with LED Lights on Both Sides to Prevent Pedestrian Accidents
[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Seocho-gu’s ‘Book Payback Service’ and ‘Runway-type Crosswalk’ have been selected for the ‘2021 Resident Life Innovation Case Expansion Support Project’ hosted by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, winning two Innovation Champion awards.
The Ministry of the Interior and Safety collected 468 excellent institutional innovation cases discovered through the 2020 Government Innovation Best Practice Competition, Government Joint Evaluation, and Innovation Evaluation, and after reviewing five criteria including resident life impact, ease of expansion, and innovativeness (participation and cooperation), selected 34 outstanding cases in five fields that resolve inconveniences in residents’ lives and enhance resident benefits.
First, the ‘Book Payback Service’ is the nation’s first service where books purchased at local bookstores can be returned to the purchasing bookstore within three weeks for a full refund. The returned books are purchased by Seocho-gu and stocked in libraries, representing a prime example of collaboration.
Residents can read desired books at nearby bookstores instead of libraries, and local bookstores can increase sales, creating a win-win effect. The ‘Book Payback Service’ even obtained a patent in March last year.
The ‘Runway-type Crosswalk’ is an advanced traffic safety facility that installs embedded LED guide lights on both sides of the crosswalk to alert pedestrians of the crossing. Installed for the first time nationwide in Seocho-gu in 2018, the ‘Runway-type Crosswalk’ has since been installed at 247 locations including child protection zones and non-signalized crosswalks, playing a significant role in preventing pedestrian safety accidents.
Additionally, to establish installation standards for the ‘Runway-type Crosswalk,’ the district actively collaborated with the National Police Agency to lead the revision of the related regulation, the ‘Traffic Road Surface Marking Installation and Management Manual’ (March 26, 2020).
The selected cases will be introduced through the Resident Life Innovation Case Expansion Support Project contest: the ‘Book Payback Service’ will be implemented in Gwangju Metropolitan City, and the ‘Runway-type Crosswalk’ will be introduced in Michuhol-gu, Incheon, and Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul.
Through continuous innovative administration efforts, the district has maintained the gold medal (1st place) with an overwhelming margin in the ‘Government Innovation Best Practice’ category of the ‘Government Innovation 1st Street’ operated by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, with 117 excellent cases selected.
Park Woo-man, Head of the Planning and Budget Division, stated, “We hope Seocho’s unique, life-centered innovative administration spreads widely to many local governments nationwide,” and added, “We will continue to actively discover and promote innovative cases that can enhance residents’ benefits.”
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