Geumcheon-gu Wins 'Gold Award' in Autonomy and Decentralization Policy... Seoul's First Senior Convenience Store 'Chakhan Sanghoe'

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Geumcheon-gu (Mayor Yu Seong-hoon) won the Gold Award in the policy category at the ‘2021 Local Autonomy Award’ held on the 19th at Gwangmyeong Theater in Gwangmyeong City, as Seoul’s first senior convenience store ‘Chakhan Sanghoe’.

The Local Autonomy Award, co-hosted by the Local Autonomy Local Government Council and the Local Autonomy University, was promoted under the theme ‘The Power that Grows Korea, the Region is the Brand’ to widely publicize excellent cases from various regions nationwide.

In this contest, which involved over 100 local governments nationwide, 30 cases were first selected through the first document screening, and the award-winning local governments were decided through a second screening involving expert and public participation panel video reviews.

Geumcheon-gu, in line with the characteristics of a rapidly aging society, launched the senior job dedicated institution ‘Geumcheon Senior Club’ at the beginning of the 7th elected term, and within two years was selected as the best senior job institution by the Ministry of Health and Welfare evaluation.

Through the Geumcheon Senior Club, various and high-quality senior job projects that can work with the local community have been developed, promoting customized projects such as Seoul’s first senior convenience store ‘Chakhan Sanghoe’, ‘Hamkke Green Cafe’ where seniors work as baristas, and ‘Geumbit Delivery’ linked with large corporations’ social contribution projects.

Last year, Geumcheon-gu won the Grand Prize in the population structure change response category for high-quality senior job operation at the ‘2021 National Basic Local Government Manifesto Best Practice Competition’, and in October, it received certification as an age-friendly city from the World Health Organization (WHO) and joined the international network.

Mayor Yu Seong-hoon said, “We believe that the best welfare for seniors is jobs, and as a result of creating various workplaces tailored to the characteristics of seniors, we were able to win the Gold Award in the policy category,” adding, “We will continue to discover more creative policies that only local governments can implement and lead the era of Local Autonomy 2.0, where residents become the true owners.”