[Seoul District News] Immediate Discounts or Coupons for Affordable Online Grocery Shopping; Submit Receipts On-site to Receive Onnuri Gift Certificates and District Coupons for Fun Savings... Guro-gu Distributes Fire Extinguishers to Traditional Markets for Winter Fire Prevention... Gwanak-gu Develops University and Nangok Area Living Zone Plan Based on Resident Feedback... Yeongdeungpo-gu Leads Dangsan-gol Alley Economy Revitalization with "Lively My Own Living Zone"... Yongsan-gu Hosts Metaverse Job Lecture with Industry Professionals on the 3rd... Yangcheon-gu until the 10th
[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Jungnang-gu (Mayor Ryu Kyung-gi) announced that five local traditional markets (Dongbu, Dongwon, Myeonmok, Sagajeong, Dongwon Shopping District) are participating in the ‘Traditional Market Bustling Special Sale’ held since the 29th of last month.
The Traditional Market Bustling Special Sale is a project promoted by Seoul City to increase sales and stimulate consumption in traditional markets struggling due to the economic downturn. Both non-face-to-face online events and on-site events will be held simultaneously to provide richer benefits to residents.
First, online shopping discounts are available through Naver Neighborhood Market Shopping and the Coupang Eats app. On Naver Neighborhood Market Shopping, products from Myeonmok Alley Market and Dongwon Traditional General Market can be purchased with a 20% immediate discount until the 12th.
On the Coupang Eats app, customers who purchase over 10,000 KRW can receive a 6,000 KRW discount coupon. Jungnang Dongbu Market (until Dec. 16), Sagajeong Market, and Dongwon Traditional Market Shopping District (Jan. 3 to Jan. 16, 2022) are participating.
On-site events will be held at three locations?Jungnang Dongbu Market, Myeonmok Alley Market, and Sagajeong Market?until the 10th. Visitors who purchase products above a certain amount and present their receipts to the market merchant association can receive Onnuri gift certificates and market-specific coupons.
Ryu Kyung-gi, Mayor of Jungnang-gu, said, “This special sale event is held both online and on-site, so I believe many residents will participate. I hope everyone enjoys the fun of buying good products at affordable prices in traditional markets during the event period.”
Guro-gu (Mayor Lee Sung) has provided fire extinguishers and fire extinguisher stands to traditional markets in the area.
On the 2nd, Guro-gu announced, “To strengthen safety in traditional markets vulnerable to winter fires, we are promoting the ‘One Fire Extinguisher per Store in Traditional Markets’ project, placing one fire extinguisher in each store.”
Guro-gu conducted a full survey of nine traditional markets in the district, including Guro, Namguro, Gocheok Neighborhood, and Oryu Markets, selecting 269 stores that were either outdated or lacked fire extinguishers.
Each selected store received one 3.3kg powder-type fire extinguisher or one fire extinguisher stand. Fire extinguishers were installed in places within the stores where they are not hidden by products, so they can be used immediately in case of fire.
Meanwhile, since January last year, Guro-gu has been operating a ‘Smart Fire Alarm Service’ at 315 traditional market locations including Guro Market, Namguro Market, and Gocheok Neighborhood Market. This service integrates IoT technology with fire alarm facilities to enable one-stop fire detection, reporting, and situation dissemination.
A Guro-gu official said, “Traditional markets, where stores are densely packed, have a high risk of fire and fires can escalate into large-scale disasters, so early suppression is very important. We will create a safe traditional market environment where local merchants and visitors can use with peace of mind through systematic fire prevention measures.”
Gwanak-gu (Mayor Park Jun-hee) has five local living zones: Nakseongdae, Sillim, University, Nangok, and Bongcheon, and is currently establishing the ‘University-Nangok Local Living Zone Plan Implementation Measures.’
‘Living zone’ refers to the spatial range where residents carry out daily activities such as commuting, schooling, shopping, leisure, socializing, work, and public services. Seoul is divided into five regional living zones including the southwest area where Gwanak-gu is located, and 116 local living zones.
The ‘Living Zone Plan’ is a citizen-centered plan that discovers and solves life improvement tasks tailored to residents’ needs and regional characteristics within the living zone. Residents participate to gather diverse opinions and present development directions, policy goals, and implementation strategies for the area.
Specific implementation measures for the plan will also be established, discovering and commercializing projects tailored to the region in areas such as housing, transportation, walking, environment, safety, culture, and tourism, along with seven local service facilities closely related to the community: parks, parking lots, libraries, elderly, youth, childcare, and sports facilities.
To expand resident participation and introduce governance-type cooperation, the district held a resident participation group meeting on the 29th at 2 p.m. in the district office auditorium, composed of general applicants and resident autonomy committee members.
Resident participation groups from each neighborhood listened to explanations about the local living zone plan and implementation measures, then identified lacking and most needed facilities by area, selected project priorities, and conducted free discussions and presentations by neighborhood.
A district official said, “Based on the opinions of the resident participation group from this meeting, we will establish and steadily promote the University-Nangok Local Living Zone Plan Implementation Measures through consultations with related departments and governance meetings.”
Yeongdeungpo-gu (Mayor Chae Hyun-il) announced that it is promoting the ‘Lively My Own Living Commercial Area Creation’ project to transform the alleys around Dangsan-ro 16-gil and Yeongdeungpo-ro 27-gil into unique and vibrant living commercial areas.
This area was once a somewhat dark alley densely populated with illegal entertainment pubs disguised as caf?-style restaurants (so-called ‘bad cafes’). Since the second half of 2019, the district has worked to voluntarily eliminate these bad cafes and create cultural and relaxation spaces such as artists’ exhibition spaces, cafes, and village libraries, transforming the neighborhood into a resident-friendly space where anyone can comfortably visit and freely communicate.
The ‘Lively My Own Living Commercial Area Creation’ project is part of these efforts. Residents, small business owners, and social enterprises have formed a consultative body to promote community activation and sustainable environmental improvement projects, carrying out various initiatives to create a living commercial area with the unique charm of Dangsan-gol.
First, for merchants, the district operates support projects for commercial area revitalization, including ▲‘Our Neighborhood Peace Disinfection’ small business disinfection service to create a safe alley commercial area ▲‘Dangsan-gol Eco-friendly Package Pack Challenge’ selling zero-waste products such as air-purifying plants and natural loofahs at low prices to residents visiting Dangsan-gol restaurants and cafes ▲‘Dangsan-gol Neighborhood Counseling Center Dangtalk,’ a customized non-face-to-face psychological counseling service for small business owners.
The ‘Our Neighborhood Peace Disinfection’ service started in October, disinfecting door handles and interiors of about 100 Dangsan-gol shops, with ongoing requests for disinfection.
Next, for cultural commercial area revitalization, the district has operated a workshop-linked cultural experience program since November 15, offering various classes such as candle making, everyday pottery, handmade chocolate making, mastering italic script, and brush pen calligraphy.
Additionally, to foster bonds and networks among merchants, the district is working on environmental projects such as ▲making hanji (traditional Korean paper) light signboards ▲producing and distributing alley commercial area guide maps ▲operating Yeongdeungpo Dangsan-gol Kakao Channel and SNS for promotion and marketing expansion.
Last month, about ten hanji light fixtures and sculptures shaped like coffee cups and sirutteok (steamed rice cakes), reflecting Dangsan-gol’s cultural characteristics, were installed along Dangsan-ro 16-gil, providing visitors and nearby residents with various sights and enjoyment.
Representatives from social enterprises Bonobossi and Highcycle, and social cooperative Noneumaegi, jointly promoting the ‘Dangsan-dong Living Commercial Area Creation Project,’ said, “It is very meaningful that residents, small business owners, and social enterprises communicate and collaborate to strengthen Dangsan-gol’s market competitiveness and create a virtuous cycle of growth. We will continue to do our best to implement more innovative and effective projects to revitalize the Yeongdeungpo commercial area including Dangsan-gol.”
Chae Hyun-il, Mayor of Yeongdeungpo-gu, said, “Just as residents, social economy organizations, and small business owners united to transform Dangsan-gol into a clean and bright street, I expect the ‘Dangsan-dong Living Commercial Area Creation Project’ to once again turn it into a lively and bustling neighborhood. We will continue to lead efforts to spread warm social economy values through solidarity and cooperation with local residents and merchants.”
Yongsan-gu (Mayor Seong Chang-hyun) will hold employment special lectures for 120 job seekers in two sessions on the 3rd.
This is to support young job seekers’ employment.
The district prepared non-face-to-face employment special lectures using a metaverse platform to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Mentors include employees from a non-face-to-face electronic approval specialist company, a corporate cloud service provider, and a global consulting firm.
The mentors will share company introductions, job analyses, required competencies, and employment information based on their direct experiences in the field.
The lecture fields are ▲service and planning ▲marketing and sales ▲consulting. Each field will have a one-hour job-specific lecture followed by one hour of mentoring.
The lectures will be held on December 3, with the first session from 1 to 3 p.m. and the second from 4 to 6 p.m. Participants can access the online metaverse platform Verbena.
A district official said, “Last year, non-face-to-face employment lectures using the video conferencing platform ZOOM received great responses. This year, we increased the number of participants by 50% and introduced the metaverse platform, which facilitates watching job-specific lecture videos and interactive Q&A with a sense of presence.”
The district recruited participants through a dedicated employment lecture website and Naver form pre-registration starting from the 23rd of last month. The target is 120 young people (20 per group), including job seekers and university students in the area.
Seong Chang-hyun, Mayor of Yongsan-gu, said, “The employment environment is rapidly changing due to COVID-19. I hope many will gain help from the employment special lectures where they can hear vivid experiences from seniors currently working in the field.”
Besides online employment lectures, the district supports youth social entry through various programs such as ▲job experience-type internship programs ▲employment support programs ▲youth job creation subsidy projects ▲employment support linked to expert training ▲public-private cooperation job creation contest projects.
Yangcheon-gu (Mayor Kim Soo-young) will conduct a self-assessment of integrity for 150 grade-6 team leaders, who play a pivotal role in district administration, until December 10.
Last year, the self-assessment was conducted for senior officials of grade 5 and above, but this year the scope has been expanded to include grade-6 team leaders.
This team leader integrity evaluation will be conducted through an anonymous online survey by an internal staff evaluation panel of 20 people, consisting of 14 subordinates, 4 to 5 colleagues, and 1 to 2 superiors who have worked with the target for more than one month in the past two years. The survey period is 10 days from December 1 to 10.
The evaluation covers 15 items across four areas: ▲fair job performance ▲prohibition of unfair gains ▲healthy public service culture ▲integrity practice.
The district will individually notify the evaluated team leaders of their scores by item and average scores to provide opportunities for self-reflection. Based on the scores, corruption vulnerability factors will be analyzed and actively reflected in next year’s integrity policy formulation.
This self-assessment targeting middle managers, who are closest to residents, is expected to not only implement integrity administration that residents can tangibly feel externally but also greatly contribute to spreading an overall culture of integrity within the public service.
Kim Soo-young, Mayor of Yangcheon-gu, said, “I hope this team leader self-assessment will help establish a voluntary culture of integrity within the organization. We will continuously strive to create a transparent public service culture and become Yangcheon-gu, the number one district trusted by residents for integrity.”
Dobong-gu (Mayor Lee Dong-jin) will hold the 2021 Governance Dobong Activity Sharing Meeting titled ‘Drawing Values Together, Governance Dobong Revisited’ at the Dobong-gu Office Seoninbong Hall on the 7th.
Now in its fifth year, the Governance Dobong Activity Sharing Meeting was planned and executed jointly by the public and private sectors through a steering committee to reflect the spirit of ‘governance.’ It aims to review the past five years of Governance Dobong and jointly consider future directions.
‘Drawing Values Together, Governance Dobong Revisited’ means “looking back on the values we have drawn together over the past five years and drawing the spring after COVID-19 together.” ‘Revisited’ also implies preparing for the ‘spring’ that will come again.
The event includes ▲‘Governance Dobong Weather Forecast,’ a concise introduction to five years of Governance Dobong ▲‘Governance Masters,’ where governance committee members directly introduce governance agendas pursued so far ▲‘Time to Change Dobong,’ sharing diagnosis and improvement plans for Dobong-gu’s governance system ▲‘Governance Quiz,’ learning about governance through initial consonant quizzes and spot-the-difference games ▲‘Governance Channel d,’ a concise introduction to Governance Dobong’s goals centered on keywords, among other activities led by public-private governance committee members.
Dobong-gu has led local governance proactively by enacting the ‘Basic Ordinance for Activating Public-Private Governance in Dobong-gu’ in December 2016, the first among nationwide local governments, establishing institutional foundations for sustainable governance, and being the first Seoul district to establish a community innovation plan.
Lee Dong-jin, Mayor of Dobong-gu, said, “We will continue to do our best to firmly establish governance as a core value of district administration. I hope many people will join this activity sharing meeting so that Dobong-gu’s public-private governance can achieve results and play a leading role in various fields.”
Seocho-gu conducted an online vote to select the ‘Top 10 Seocho News’ most loved by residents among various projects throughout the year and announced the 10 projects directly chosen by residents.
The first place was awarded to ‘Leading K-Quarantine, Seocho S-Quarantine.’ This project received the most votes for its advanced COVID-19 response protecting residents’ health and safety, including installing state-of-the-art untact screening clinics, operating the largest number of screening clinics in Seoul such as drive-through testing sites, conducting the nation’s first full testing of overseas entrants, and providing free full testing for all residents to prevent asymptomatic infection spread.
The second place went to ‘Yangjaecheon Recognized by Korea and the World, Residents’ Cultural and Healing Spot.’ Yangjaecheon, Seocho-gu’s representative stream, was renovated into a healing space where nature, culture, and art coexist, comforting residents exhausted by COVID-19 and healing their emotions. Especially, the ‘Yangjaecheon Cheonnun Tour’ program, meaning ‘slowly enjoying a tour along the stream,’ which offers experiences of various flora and fauna living in Yangjaecheon and raises awareness of stream conservation, won the Silver Award at the European Green Apple Awards last month.
Additionally, the district created the largest four-season garden among nationwide streams, transformed the area under Yeongdong 2 Bridge into a cultural and healing space to increase residents’ resting areas, and promoted the Yangjaecheon photo contest ‘Emotional Vaccine,’ receiving great responses and comforting residents’ daily lives during COVID-19.
The third place was ‘Seocho, the Icon of Innovation, Creating National Standards, Winning 117 Government Innovation Excellence Cases with an Overwhelming Gold Medal.’ Despite the COVID-19 crisis, Seocho-gu continuously pursued innovative administration, resulting in 117 ‘excellent innovation cases’ selected among 670 cases from 243 local governments on the Ministry of the Interior and Safety’s ‘Government Innovation 1st Street,’ the highest number nationwide.
The fourth place was the nation’s first ‘Child Protection Response Center,’ a public-private-police child protection collaboration platform working to eliminate blind spots in child abuse and strengthen prevention. The fifth place was ‘Seoripul Saem AI Smart Schooling,’ which strives to reduce educational gaps for vulnerable children caused by online learning and partial school attendance during COVID-19.
Other rankings included ▲6th Seocho-type ‘Shared Daycare Centers’ ▲7th improved public transportation convenience in traffic-isolated areas ▲8th the nation’s first ‘Seocho Child Development Center’ ▲9th ‘Seocho Women’s Job Corporation’ ▲10th cultural performance gifts and Seocho-type Education Dream Solutions.
Cheon Jeong-wook, Acting Mayor of Seocho-gu, said, “I thank the 450,000 residents who cooperated and supported Seocho-gu to achieve good results in various fields this year. We will continue to reflect residents’ valuable opinions in policies that help daily life so that living in Seocho becomes a source of pride.”
Dongjak-gu (Mayor Lee Chang-woo) announced on the 2nd that it was selected as an excellent institution for two consecutive years in the ‘2021 Local Government Financial Analysis Comprehensive Evaluation’ conducted by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety.
The district achieved the honor of being selected as an excellent institution by receiving the highest grade ‘A’ in the ‘Financial Planning’ category through sound and planned financial management. Last year, it was selected as an excellent institution in the ‘Financial Efficiency’ category.
The local government financial analysis comprehensive evaluation analyzes and evaluates the financial status of 243 local governments nationwide for the 2020 fiscal year based on 13 major financial indicators in three areas: ▲soundness ▲planning ▲efficiency.
Especially this year, our district received high scores in detailed indicators of the financial planning category, such as the mid-term financial plan reflection rate and the unused and unspent fund ratio.
The closer the budget reflection in the mid-term financial plan is to 100%, the higher the evaluation. The district’s mid-term financial plan reflection rate was 103.03%, reducing the margin of error by 0.34 percentage points compared to last year. This is lower than the average of 103.81% for Seoul districts of the same type.
The lower the unused and unspent fund ratio, the higher the score. The district’s ratio was 5.56%, a decrease of 4.96 percentage points from last year. This is lower than the average of 9.62% for Seoul districts of the same type, indicating good management of carryover and unused funds.
The district will receive a special financial incentive grant of 50 million KRW this month as an excellent institution and plans to use it for various projects benefiting residents.
Lee Chang-woo, Mayor of Dongjak-gu, said, “This result comes from planning and executing the budget systematically despite the COVID-19 crisis. We will continue to do our best to support the recovery of the local economy affected by COVID-19 and maintain sound financial management in Dongjak-gu.”
Gwangjin-gu (Mayor Kim Sun-gap) won the exemplary award in the ‘2021 Seoul City Urban Agriculture Excellent District Evaluation.’
The ‘2021 Seoul City Urban Agriculture Excellent District Evaluation’ assessed 25 districts from January to October this year based on ▲diversity of urban agriculture projects ▲performance ▲promotion activities.
Gwangjin-gu received high marks for its proactive project implementation, including creating three small leftover gardens and eight urban gardens this year and leading urban agriculture education for children.
To revitalize urban agriculture in daily life, the district operates ▲three leftover gardens ▲five school gardens ▲one healing garden ▲two children’s gardens, continuously promoting these to encourage active participation from residents interested in urban agriculture.
From July to October, the district also conducted the ‘2021 Children’s Mushroom Bag Making’ and ‘Garden Tour Program,’ providing outdoor experiential education opportunities to children who had difficulty participating in various experiences due to COVID-19.
The district plans to lease leftover and box gardens to individuals and groups in the region starting March next year and to revitalize educational programs such as urban farmer schools and urban beekeeping schools, which had been somewhat subdued due to COVID-19.
Kim Sun-gap, Mayor of Gwangjin-gu, said, “I hope urban agriculture projects will regain vitality in the new year. We will actively support more residents, including children, to enjoy time with nature in their daily lives.”
Geumcheon-gu (Mayor Yoo Sung-hoon) announced that it will conduct customized parent education for 15 Dream Start families who feel burdened with child-rearing during December.
This education aims to enhance parents’ problem-solving abilities for various issues experienced during child-rearing and to help them recognize proper parental roles within the family, supporting the healthy and proper growth of Dream Start children.
Participants are Dream Start case management targets, prioritizing families with elementary school children who need parenting coaching.
Geumcheon-gu first conducts four tests for parents: ▲Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) ▲Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) ▲Sentence Completion Test (SCT) ▲Parenting Attitude Test (PAT), and a child personality temperament test (JTCI) for children to understand each family’s characteristics.
Counseling is conducted in two sessions, either face-to-face or non-face-to-face depending on the parents’ choice.
The first session involves individual interpretation counseling based on test results, explaining parenting types and attitudes and children’s temperament, and proposing customized solutions. The second session provides parenting coaching on difficulties and communication methods parents usually experience.
Yoo Sung-hoon, Mayor of Geumcheon-gu, said, “I hope this education will promote children’s healthy growth and strengthen parents’ capabilities within families. We will continue to implement various family support programs.”
Gwangjin-gu (Mayor Kim Sun-gap) is conducting a comprehensive inspection of local tax exemptions and reductions on real estate until the 15th of this month to discover omitted tax sources and realize fair taxation.
This inspection is conducted according to the Local Tax Act and Local Tax Special Cases Act, which require that when housing rental businesses, religious organizations, etc., submit exemption or reduction applications and receive acquisition tax reductions, the property must be used directly for the intended purpose without ownership changes such as sale or gift during the exemption grace period.
The target includes about 7,000 real estate properties that received acquisition tax exemptions or reductions in the past five years, focusing especially on rental housing and first-time home purchase reductions, which have many cases.
Key inspection items include ▲whether the property was sold or used as rental housing during the mandatory rental period ▲whether the first-time home purchase reduction was followed by actual residence or sale/gift ▲whether the property is used directly for religious activities or ancestral rites ▲whether nonprofit entities use the property for purposes other than intended or convert it to profit-making businesses ▲whether infant daycare centers and kindergartens use the property directly.
The district first investigates property tax records, building registers, and real estate registry copies to check if the properties are used according to exemption and reduction requirements.
Then, property owners receive advance notices requesting cooperation for usage status surveys, and survey officials visit the properties to verify detailed usage.
If it is confirmed that the property was sold within the grace period or not used for the intended purpose, the reduced local taxes will be reclaimed, and the property will be excluded from future exemption targets.
Kim Sun-gap, Mayor of Gwangjin-gu, said, “Through this comprehensive inspection of exemptions and reductions, we expect to realize accurate and fair taxation and ensure a correct understanding of the purpose of tax reductions.”
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