Gwanak-gu, Full Effort for Rapid Financial Execution to Revitalize Local Economy

[Seoul District News] Gwanak-gu Accelerates Operation of 'Rapid Execution Promotion Team' with 60% Rapid Execution Target for First Half of the Year... Jongno-gu Launches 2nd Term of Jamunbak Art Residency... Dobong-gu Establishes 2022 Public Design Promotion Plan and Implements Design Guidelines... Dongdaemun-gu Offers Up to 20 Million KRW and 1% Annual Loans to Food Sanitation Businesses... Mapo-gu Begins Production of 'Mapo Craft Workshop Map'

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Gwanak-gu (Mayor Park Jun-hee) has set a rapid budget execution target of 60% for the first half of this year to revitalize the local economy, which has been depressed due to COVID-19, and has launched an all-out strategic financial execution campaign.

'Local Finance Rapid Execution' is a system designed to mitigate economic shocks and improve the efficiency of financial management through rapid public sector spending during economic downturns. The district set a rapid execution target of 147.5 billion KRW, which is 60% of the 245.9 billion KRW subject to rapid execution.

Considering the characteristics of the local economy, the district believes that public sector financial execution will serve as a catalyst for economic recovery. Therefore, it set the rapid execution target for the first half of this year 4.4% higher than the target suggested by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and began implementation.

In particular, the district plans to focus on invigorating the local economy by executing 60 billion KRW in the first quarter for consumption and investment sectors such as job projects, which have significant economic ripple effects and are closely related to residents' lives.

Additionally, a 'Rapid Execution Promotion Team' led by the deputy mayor has been formed and operated to establish a continuous monitoring system. It will focus on managing execution status through frequent financial execution inspection meetings chaired by the deputy mayor, concentrating on investment projects over 300 million KRW and resolving execution obstacles.

Furthermore, unless there are special reasons, all bids in the first half of the year will be conducted as emergency bids, with activation of advance payment execution, shortening of contract review periods, temporary expansion of negotiated contracts, and other rapid execution guidelines actively utilized to enhance execution efficiency.

As a result of strong determination and proactive financial management for local economic recovery, the district has been selected as an 'Excellent Institution for Local Finance Rapid Execution' six times consecutively over the past three years, securing a total of 449 million KRW in financial incentives, which were used for projects benefiting residents such as traditional market facility modernization and sewer pipeline maintenance.

A district official said, "As small business owners are struggling due to the spread of COVID-19, rapid financial execution by the public sector is more important than ever," adding, "We will spare no effort to actively execute finances to revitalize the local economy and stabilize people's livelihoods so that the local economy can recover to pre-COVID-19 levels."

Dobong-gu (Mayor Lee Dong-jin) will establish the 'Public Design Promotion Plan and Design Guidelines' and officially implement them from 2022 to realize friendly and comfortable public design that accompanies the daily lives of Dobong residents.

The 'Public Design Promotion Plan' is a statutory plan established every five years under the 'Act on the Promotion of Public Design.' It was formulated last year through administrative procedures such as resident interviews for opinion gathering, consultations with related organizations and departments, expert advice, and review by the Design Committee.

Through this plan, the district set the future vision of public design as 'Happy Steps, Emotional Dobong' to realize 'a pedestrian-friendly city completed by connection and an emotional pedestrian city approached by emptiness,' establishing three basic directions and seven implementation strategies to prepare the master plan and design guidelines for promotion.

The core of Dobong-gu's basic directions for public design focuses on three main aspects: 'Safe Walking Environment,' which strengthens pedestrian safety through everyday life-integrated, practical design; 'Emotional Walking Environment,' which integrates and highlights local assets and idle spaces to enhance Dobong-gu's dignity; and 'Equal Walking Environment,' which includes universal design without obstacles, crime prevention environmental design, and designs addressing social issues such as population decline.

The seven implementation strategies are ▲Creating a dignified symbolic entrance to Dobong-gu ▲Upgrading the design of Dobong-gu's proud historical and cultural resources ▲Restoring the natural edge of the green landscape at the foot of Dobongsan Mountain ▲Making low-rise residential areas safe ▲Strengthening connectivity of waterfront spaces through differentiated design ▲Connecting by bicycle ▲Improving visual disturbance elements along the Gyeongwon Line using color.

To promote this plan, Dobong-gu will implement six sector-specific 'Standard Design Guidelines' and three types of 'Specialized Design Guidelines' reflecting the district's identity. The district plans to carry out leading projects according to the seven implementation strategies, targeting completion by 2026.

Accordingly, Dobong-gu installed integrated signage facilities as a pilot project on Dobong History and Culture Street 1 in December 2021 and has been conducting entrance environment improvement projects that reveal urban identity at city and district boundaries since January 2022.

Mayor Lee Dong-jin said, "With the establishment of a systematic public design plan reflecting the district's characteristics, we will upgrade Dobong-gu's urban dignity through friendly and comfortable public design policies that accompany residents' daily lives."

Jongno-gu will begin operating the 'Jamonbak Art Residency 2nd Term' starting with an orientation ceremony on the 9th.

Opened in 2020, Jamonbak Art Residency (5 Pyeongchang 31-gil) was created to provide cultural artists with a stable yet free working environment and to open opportunities for growth based on mutual exchange.

Following the successful operation of the first term, the newly selected second-term artists are emerging artists actively working both domestically and internationally. They consist of 15 members from 13 teams across various fields including ▲painting ▲design ▲exhibition planning ▲architecture ▲media art ▲music ▲performance, selected after two rounds of rigorous screening since December 2021.

They will be provided with independent and open exclusive spaces within the residency until December 31 of this year, as well as shared spaces for small communities and exhibitions. They will also engage in a 'Local Art Project' creating works targeting local small business owners and workshops, and participate in programs to grow as cultural artists contributing to regional cultural development.

Additionally, they will hold exhibitions open to residents showcasing their workspaces and achievements, and have meaningful mentoring sessions with senior artists to share philosophies and visions of art across generations.

Meanwhile, the nickname 'Jamonbak,' meaning 'outside Jahamun,' refers to five nearby neighborhoods in Jongno-gu: Gugi-dong, Buam-dong, Sinyeong-dong, Pyeongchang-dong, and Hongji-dong. This area is noted as an organic cultural and artistic village with many museums and galleries and a long history of cultural artists residing there.

Jongno-gu, in partnership with the Jamonbak Cultural Forum, has been promoting the 'Jamonbak Creative Arts Village' project to enable residents to enjoy a life enriched with culture by utilizing the area's abundant cultural and artistic resources. Representative examples include the 'Jamonbak Cultural Festival,' creation of a 'Cultural Street,' and the 'Jamonbak Museum Project' to build 100 art galleries in the area.

In agreement with this purpose, Hong Ra-hee, former director of Samsung Museum Leeum, donated 1 billion KRW to the Jamonbak Cultural Forum in December last year. The donation will be used as operating funds for the residency to support emerging artists' creative activities. The district hopes this will serve as a starting point to encourage participation and support for the 'Jamonbak Museum Project.'

A district official stated, "Building on the experience of operating the first term of the art residency, we will fully support the second-term artists to freely carry out creative activities here," emphasizing, "We will do our best to create a creative arts village and museums utilizing Jamonbak's beautiful natural scenery and cultural art infrastructure."

Dongdaemun-gu (Mayor Yoo Deok-yeol) will implement a food promotion fund loan project to ease the management burden of food hygiene business operators in the area who are experiencing economic difficulties due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic and to support the improvement of hygiene levels in food hygiene establishments.

Any operator who has reported and is operating a food hygiene business such as general restaurants, cafes, and bakeries can apply for loan support. However, those who have received administrative sanctions such as business suspension twice or more within one year from the loan application date for violating the Food Sanitation Act, or those who are currently repaying or have repaid the food promotion fund loan within less than one year, are not eligible to apply.

The types of loans include ▲Facility Improvement Funds (supporting funds for improving facilities of general and cafe restaurants, bakeries, and food manufacturing and processing businesses) ▲Development Funds (supporting funds needed for purchasing hygiene equipment and menu development for model restaurants and tourist restaurants) ▲COVID-19 Emergency Operating Funds (supporting funds for labor costs, operating expenses, etc., necessary for restaurant operation targeting general, cafe, and bakery operators).

In particular, the COVID-19 Emergency Operating Funds can be loaned up to 20 million KRW at an annual interest rate of 1%, with a two-year grace period and three-year equal installment repayment. These funds can be widely used for labor costs, operating expenses, etc., and are expected to be a great help to operators struggling due to COVID-19. However, establishments that have been suspended or prosecuted for violating COVID-19 quarantine rules within six months from the application date are not eligible.

Applications are accepted until the budget is exhausted (city fund 20 billion KRW, district fund 70 million KRW). Operators wishing to apply must visit the Dongdaemun-gu Public Health Center's Health and Hygiene Division with required documents such as ID and loan application form. The forms are available at the Health and Hygiene Division and can also be downloaded from the '2022 Dongdaemun-gu Food Promotion Fund Loan Plan Notice' section on the Dongdaemun-gu website.

Operators confirmed as loan recipients after Seoul City's review can apply for loans at designated banks (Woori Bank, Hana Bank, IBK Industrial Bank of Korea).

For detailed information on loan limits and other matters related to the food promotion fund loan, contact the Dongdaemun-gu Public Health Center's Health and Hygiene Division or check the Dongdaemun-gu website.

Mayor Yoo Deok-yeol said, "I hope food hygiene business operators facing great difficulties due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic can ease their burdens through this food promotion fund loan," adding, "We will do our best to provide practical support to local small business owners going through tough times."

Mapo-gu (Mayor Yoo Dong-gyun) is accepting applications for participating workshops to be featured in the ‘2022 Mapo Craft Workshop Guide’ until the 25th of this month.

The district has been producing the ‘Craft Workshop Guide’ since 2020 to promote the local economy by utilizing regional cultural resources and introducing long-established or distinctive workshops in Mapo-gu.

The Craft Workshop Guide is stocked at public institutions such as local community centers and tourist information centers, serving as a compass providing experiential tourism content to domestic and foreign tourists visiting Mapo-gu, while offering workshops opportunities to widely promote themselves.

Workshops selected for participation will not only enjoy promotional benefits by being featured in the ‘2022 Mapo Craft Workshop Guide’ but also receive priority selection in various workshop-related networking programs conducted later by the Mapo Craft Center.

Eligibility for application is workshops located in Mapo-gu that handle woodcraft, metal, textiles, etc. However, workshops in the food and beverage sector such as baking and handmade syrup are excluded.

Applications can be submitted online by accessing the QR code or internet address at the bottom of the promotional poster and completing an online survey including details such as ▲business name ▲production field ▲contact information ▲address ▲operation (experience) period ▲number of regular employees ▲workshop usage information.

The district will review the eligibility of applicants and, after deliberation by the Mapo Craft Development Council, will finalize the participating workshops in March.

The 2022 Craft Workshop Guide will be distributed in July and produced as leaflets to be used as tourist guidebooks.

For more information, contact the Mapo Craft Center.

Mayor Yoo Dong-gyun said, "We ask for much interest in producing the Mapo Craft Workshop Guide, which can widely promote local craft artists and artisans," adding, "We will continue to expand support projects for local artists and strive to revitalize Mapo-gu's craft culture projects and local economy."