[Interview] Lee Dong-jin, Dobong-gu Mayor: "Dobong-gu Will Take the Lead in Opening the Era of Autonomy and Decentralization 2.0"

2022, the Meaningful Year Marking the Groundbreaking of Seoul Arena, the Core of Changdong New Economic Hub... Continuing Efforts to Become a Leading Local Government Opening the Era of Climate Crisis Response, Sustainable Development, and Autonomy Decentralization 2.0

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] “In 2022, we will devote all efforts to revitalizing the local economy through culture, including the Seoul Arena and the Changdong New Economic Hub. In addition, in line with the implementation of the full revision of the Local Autonomy Act, we will prepare to lead Dobong-gu in opening the era of Local Autonomy 2.0.”

In an interview with this publication, Lee Dong-jin, Mayor of Dobong-gu, expressed his ambition to revitalize the economy through the creation of a music city and cultural city, and stated that he will devote even more effort to the development of resident autonomy and local decentralization during the remainder of his term.

Currently serving as the chairman of the Local Autonomy Decentralization Local Government Council and a three-term mayor at the forefront of local autonomy, Mayor Lee Dong-jin regards 2022 as a particularly meaningful year as it marks the first implementation of the full revision of the Local Autonomy Act.

Mayor Lee pointed out that the most important aspect of the full revision of the Local Autonomy Act is the strengthening of ‘resident sovereignty.’ Local autonomy is called grassroots democracy because it is based on resident participation.

He repeatedly emphasized that the core task of opening the Local Autonomy 2.0 era is to shift from a vertical and subordinate relationship between the central government and local governments to a horizontal and cooperative relationship, and to prepare for an era of resident sovereignty where residents are regarded not as subjects but as agents of autonomy.

The project that Dobong-gu is focusing on most this year is undoubtedly the ‘Changdong New Economic Hub Development Project,’ represented by the ‘Seoul Arena.’ Since taking office as mayor in the 5th term of the local government, Lee Dong-jin has sought ways to enhance urban vitality, setting culture as the basic direction and pushing it forward. Due to geographical conditions, it is impossible to suddenly expand corporate and commercial areas, but he was confident that if the city acquires attractive elements, people will definitely flock to it.

Accordingly, he set a strategy to change the city image through culture, which has been pursued for over 10 years, and the 20,000-seat large-scale popular music specialized performance hall ‘Seoul Arena’ is scheduled to begin construction this year with a target completion in 2025.

Once completed, ‘Seoul Arena’ is expected to attract about 2.5 million domestic and international visitors annually to see performances by world-class artists, which will create approximately 300 new cultural enterprises and about 13,000 new jobs.

To this end, around Changdong Station, a startup and cultural industry complex called ‘Seed Cube Changdong,’ with a total floor area of about 150,000㎡ and a total scale of 650 billion KRW, is currently under construction with a goal of completion in 2023. This cultural industry complex will include about 100 public creative studios for music creation and approximately 200 residential units for young musicians. While ‘Seoul Arena’ will serve as a music consumption space, ‘Seed Cube Changdong’ will function as a music production base, a creative space for musicians. Mayor Lee explained, “The remaining period until the completion and operation of the massive infrastructure called Seoul Arena is the time to focus on laying the foundation to establish Dobong-gu as a music city where music consumption, production, and distribution occur simultaneously.”

Another goal Dobong-gu pursues in 2022 is ‘sustainable development.’ In September 2015, the United Nations adopted 17 Sustainable Development Goals (UN_SDGs) covering all areas including economy, society, and environment to ensure the sustainability of humanity, and governments worldwide are actively working to achieve these goals.

Dobong-gu was also selected as a ‘Sustainable Development Education Hub City’ by the United Nations University in January 2020, the first among Seoul’s autonomous districts, and is promoting all administrative matters such as climate environment, education and culture, health and welfare, economic industry, and institutional administration in connection with sustainable development.

In particular, in the field of ‘climate environment,’ to realize ‘sustainable development,’ Dobong-gu has taken the lead ahead of other local governments by establishing the ‘2050 Carbon Neutral Strategy’ and its implementation plan, strengthening the role of the public sector, producing and distributing carbon neutrality campaigns and practical manuals, and educating citizens to raise awareness of the climate crisis and support lifestyle transitions. Mayor Lee introduced a recent internationally significant achievement: at the end of last year, Dobong-gu received the highest grade of A in an international climate crisis response evaluation, the only district in Korea to do so. This evaluation was conducted by the UK-based CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project), the most authoritative organization in this field, assessing 965 cities worldwide. Only 95 cities worldwide and 8 cities in Asia, including Dobong-gu, received an A grade, making this achievement even more meaningful.

Dobong-gu established the ‘2050 Carbon Neutral Strategy’ earlier than the central government in 2020 and formulated reduction plans for each sector. In 2021, it became the first in the nation to enact the ‘Carbon Neutrality Ordinance,’ leading climate response efforts, and the recent A grade is considered the result of these efforts.

Mayor Lee said, “The most important thing in 2022 is the successful quarantine of COVID-19. We will continue to solidly implement quarantine policies including home treatment and vaccination, prioritize the safety of residents, and carry on the remaining policies. We will strengthen the foundation to ensure that key projects such as the music industry and youth jobs are well established, and strive to position Dobong-gu as a leading local government in universal human values such as local autonomy and carbon neutrality, areas that require collective action.”