[Seoul District News] Seongdong-gu requires completion of a separate career recognition program and qualification verification for residents or those seeking employment at companies located in Seongdong-gu... Geumcheon-gu selects 2-3 carbon neutrality practice projects that can spread in the local community; applications accepted from March 11 to 30 at the district office's Village Autonomy Division or via email... Gwangjin-gu exchanges transparent PET bottles for volume-based waste bags... Gangseo-gu posts over 900 old photos digitally converted from the 1960s to present on its website... Dongdaemun-gu supports good landlords who reduced rent with up to 1 million KRW in local love gift certificates
[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Seongdong-gu (Mayor Jung Won-oh) marks International Women's Day on March 8th more meaningfully by establishing issuance standards and procedures for the Care Work Experience Certificate.
The recognized career period is up to 2 years, and the certificate can be issued if certain conditions are met.
Women with care work experience of one month or more during unemployment, residing in Seongdong-gu or wishing to work at companies located in Seongdong-gu, can obtain the certificate by completing a separate career recognition program and passing a qualification verification process.
The career recognition program is limited to those organized by Seongdong-gu or certified companies and institutions in Seongdong-gu, with a condition of completing at least 80% of the program. Qualification verification is conducted through submission of documents that can confirm unpaid care work, such as health insurance qualification certificates, family relationship certificates, and hospital admission/discharge confirmation letters, which are reviewed separately.
Seongdong-gu, which was the first in the nation to enact an ordinance related to women with career experience (November 2021), formed an 11-member Rights Committee for Women with Career Experience, chaired by Mayor Jung Won-oh. The first committee meeting was held on March 3rd to deliberate and decide on the issuance standards and procedures for the Care Work Experience Certificate. The committee specified the application targets, methods, issuance requirements, and discussed in detail the validity and utilization of the application form, accelerating the launch of the certificate project.
Related projects are progressing smoothly, and new promotion plans are beginning to take shape. Seongdong-gu's invested and affiliated institutions, including Seongdong-gu Urban Management Corporation, Seongdong Cultural Foundation, and Seongdong Future Jobs Co., Ltd., have already added a career recognition rate item to their personnel regulations since January this year, recognizing 50% of the care period in the certificate.
The district plans to officially adopt the Care Work Experience Certificate in personnel recruitment through business agreements (MOUs) with companies in the first half of this year. Especially, companies signing agreements will receive incentives such as ESG practice certification plaques and priority in small and medium enterprise loan support projects to promote widespread use of the certificate.
Seongdong-gu, which has built a solid foundation through ordinance enactment, pilot career recognition programs, data content contests, expert and entrepreneur advisory meetings, is further proceeding with ordinance revision procedures to issue the certificate 'without gender distinction' to both men and women.
Thanks to these efforts by Seongdong-gu, the social value of care work is gradually spreading. Kim Min-seok, Chair of the National Assembly Health and Welfare Committee, proposed a bill in December to change the term 'career-interrupted women' to 'women with career experience' in the Act on Promotion of Economic Activities of Career-Interrupted Women, etc. The Mapo-gu Care Experience Recognition Ordinance Promotion Headquarters (Head Kim Ga-young) is also actively moving forward.
Heo Beom-mu, Vice Chair of the Rights Committee for Women with Career Experience and member of the Seoul Chamber of Commerce and Industry Seoul Economic Committee, said, "I will lead the change in perception so that companies can use the certificate positively."
Jung Won-oh, Mayor of Seongdong-gu, said, "As we have raised the issue of the value of 'care work' needed in this era, we will ensure that awareness of care career recognition spreads nationwide," adding, "We will continue various efforts to move toward a society where work and life are balanced."
Geumcheon-gu (Mayor Yoo Sung-hoon) will publicly recruit organizations to participate in the '2022 Geumcheon 1st Street Living Lab Project' from March 11 to March 30.
'Living Lab' means 'living laboratory' in Korean, referring to an 'everyday life innovation experiment' where residents solve daily problems that public institutions have not been able to resolve with new and creative ideas.
The theme of the contest is 'Innovative Experiments for Achieving Carbon Neutrality in the Local Community.' This theme was selected to discover and solve local issues for the implementation of carbon neutrality by 2050 and overcoming the climate crisis.
Interested organizations can download the application form from the Geumcheon-gu Office website's notice board, fill it out, and submit it by visiting the 7th floor Community Autonomy Division or by email.
Geumcheon-gu plans to select 2 to 3 projects through a first departmental review and a second subsidy review committee. The final results will be posted on the district office website in May and notified individually. Selected organizations will receive up to 30 million KRW in project funding.
The selected organizations will sign agreements with Geumcheon-gu in May and implement the projects from June to December through a public-private cooperative governance method.
Last year, Geumcheon-gu conducted a contest on the theme of resolving livelihood gaps caused by COVID-19 and promoted projects such as 'Stepping Stone Classroom with Village and School' to reduce educational gaps and 'Doksan 3-dong Living Ecology Lab' to reduce green space gaps.
Yoo Sung-hoon, Mayor of Geumcheon-gu, said, "The Living Lab Project, an experiment to solve community problems, is meaningful as it is resident-led innovation," adding, "We will actively support residents to have more interest and affection for Geumcheon-gu and solve community problems through collaboration and communication."
Gwangjin-gu (Mayor Kim Sun-gap) will exchange transparent PET bottles and recyclables for volume-based waste bags to promote early settlement of the transparent PET bottle separate collection system.
The 'Transparent PET Bottle Separation Project' is a program that exchanges transparent PET bottles and other recyclables for volume-based waste bags and other items to effectively promote the transparent PET bottle separate collection system, which has been fully implemented since December 25 last year.
Thirty transparent PET bottles can be exchanged for one 10-liter volume-based waste bag; 1.5 kg of paper packs can be exchanged for one roll of toilet paper and one 10-liter volume-based waste bag; and 20 used batteries can be exchanged for two new batteries.
When exchanging, PET bottles must be emptied, labels removed, and compressed if possible; paper packs must be emptied, washed with water to remove foreign substances, and dried before bringing.
Especially this year, dedicated shredders for transparent PET bottles will be installed in the Cleaning Department and each neighborhood office to reduce the volume of recyclables and facilitate storage.
Previously, from June to December last year, the 'Recyclables Direct Trade DAY' pilot operation to separate transparent PET bottles saw participation from 1,530 residents, collecting 24,696 kg of transparent PET bottles, 14,648 kg of paper packs, and 6,129 kg of used batteries, contributing to the activation of recyclable separation.
Kim Sun-gap, Mayor of Gwangjin-gu, said, "Through the transparent PET bottle separation project, we plan to support the establishment of recyclable separation in daily life," adding, "We hope residents actively participate so that small actions can protect the environment and help daily life."
The transparent PET bottle collection days in Gwangjin-gu are Thursday for Junggok 1 & 2-dong, Guui 2-dong, Gwangjang & Hwayang-dong, Jayang 1 & 2-dong; and Friday for Junggok 3 & 4-dong, Guui 1 & 3-dong, Gunja & Neung-dong, Jayang 3 & 4-dong.
Explore the transformation of Gangseo from the 1960s to 2022 online.
Seoul Gangseo-gu (Mayor Noh Hyun-song) announced it will release photos capturing various old scenes of the district on its website.
Analog photos preserved so far have been digitized and posted on the website to share the changed appearance of Gangseo and revive residents' memories and nostalgia.
Previously, the district held the 'Gangseo Old Photo Exhibition' on the first floor of the district office main building in November last year. It received great responses from many residents, from elders to children, but due to space limitations, not all prepared photos could be displayed, which was regrettable.
Therefore, the district created an 'Old Photo Gallery' section on the website without space constraints and posted about 900 digitized old photos.
Under the theme 'Proud History of Gangseo, Made Together with Residents,' this section is organized into six themes: ▲Same Place, Different Appearance ▲Events, Festivals, Cultural Assets ▲Public Offices ▲Resident Life ▲Our Neighborhood Stories ▲Scenery and Others.
Through various photos depicting Gangseo's scenery, events, and life from the 1960s to the present, visitors can glimpse the district's changes.
The district has been converting analog photos such as films and prints it has kept into digital format to enhance preservation and share local history with more residents.
From 2019 over three years, it completed digitization of about 50,000 photos taken before the introduction of digital cameras, including 35mm films and 3×5 inch prints.
The photos posted in the 'Old Photo Gallery' include digitized photos, Seoul Archives photo materials, and photos donated by residents.
The Gangseo 'Old Photo Gallery' can be accessed by visiting the Gangseo-gu website, searching for 'Old Photo Gallery,' or selecting 'Gangseo News - Public Works (Gangseo Archive)' from the main menu.
The district plans to continue discovering and posting photo materials so residents can reminisce about the past and observe the district's changes.
Mayor Noh Hyun-song said, "The remarkable development since the opening of Gangseo-gu Office in 1977 is a proud history made together with residents," adding, "I hope the newly established Old Photo Gallery will provide a resting opportunity for residents exhausted by the COVID-19 pandemic to reminisce about the past and share local changes."
Besides the 'Old Photo Gallery,' the district also offers a 'Gangseo Seen from the Sky' section on the website, sharing drone-shot panoramic photos of various parts of the district with residents.
Dongdaemun-gu (Mayor Yoo Deok-yeol) announced it will implement the 'Seoul-type Good Landlord Support Project,' which provides local love gift certificates to landlords who reduce rent in the area.
This 'Seoul-type Good Landlord Support Project' is conducted in cooperation with Seoul City to encourage commercial building landlords to reduce rent and spread a social atmosphere of participation to alleviate the rent burden on small business owners suffering from the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.
The support targets landlords of commercial properties in the area who reduced or plan to reduce rent in 2022. Applications are accepted from March 7 to April 29.
Landlords who sign a win-win agreement with tenants and apply for the support project can receive Seoul Love Gift Certificates (mobile gift certificates) ranging from 300,000 to 1,000,000 KRW depending on the total rent reduction amount.
The gift certificate support is as follows by rent reduction amount: ▲30,000 KRW for 1 million KRW to less than 5 million KRW ▲50,000 KRW for 5 million KRW to less than 10 million KRW ▲100,000 KRW for 10 million KRW or more.
Landlords wishing to apply can check the 'Good Landlord Support Project' in the notice section of the Dongdaemun-gu Office website, download the application forms, fill them out, and submit them by visiting the 6th floor Economic Promotion Division or by registered mail.
The district expects that supporting local love gift certificates usable at small business stores will contribute to increasing sales in the local commercial area and revitalizing the local economy amid COVID-19 difficulties.
Meanwhile, last year, the district implemented the Seoul-type Good Landlord Support Project, providing about 28 million KRW in gift certificates and achieving a rent reduction effect of 338 million KRW for small business owners.
Yoo Deok-yeol, Mayor of Dongdaemun-gu, said, "I thank the good landlords who participate in rent reduction for coexistence with tenants despite difficult conditions," adding, "We will continue to prepare various support measures that benefit both landlords and tenants."
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