[Seoul District News] Dobong-gu Invests 54.33 Billion KRW This Year to Create Over 10,675 Direct and Indirect Jobs, Establishes '2022 Dobong-gu Job Creation Promotion Plan'... Gwangjin-gu Holds Listening Session for Small Business Support Projects... Gangbuk-gu and Shinhan Bank Sign Agreement to Prevent Jeonse Fraud... Gwanak-gu Focuses on Three Strategic Tasks: Building Employment and Startup Infrastructure, Providing Education and Information, Expanding Welfare Support... Gangdong Youth Startup SPACE Opens... Eunpyeong-gu Requires Reporting Within 30 Days of Lease Contract Signing Between Landlord and Tenant
Lee Dong-jin, Mayor of Dobong-gu, participating in the aptitude test experience at the '3rd Dobong-gu Job Fair 2021' (October 29, 2021, Dobong Community Center)
[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Dobong-gu (Mayor Lee Dong-jin) has established the 2022 Dobong-gu Job Creation Promotion Plan, setting job targets and measures to achieve those goals.
According to the 2022 Dobong-gu Job Creation Promotion Plan, Dobong-gu plans to invest 54.33 billion KRW this year to create more than 10,675 direct and indirect jobs.
The 2022 job vision for Dobong-gu is "Many Good Jobs, A Livable Dobong." To realize this, the district has set four key focus areas: ▲Strengthening tailored job support for the public sector (10 projects including Dobong Plus Job Project) ▲Building job infrastructure and nurturing talent for future industries (7 projects including operation of youth creative base spaces) ▲Post-COVID-19 response to revitalize the local economy (6 projects including support for Dobong-type private-led delivery apps) ▲Creating a labor-respecting environment and strengthening job matching (5 projects including establishment of an integrated job platform), implementing a total of 28 major action projects across these areas.
Key detailed projects include the 'Dobong Plus Job Project,' which prioritizes the selection of small business owners who closed due to COVID-19 and the unemployed, tailored to the characteristics of each Dobong-gu department; activation of youth startup activity base spaces such as 'Open Changdong Studio (OPCD)' and 'Eum Gong-eum Studio' for young musicians and prospective entrepreneurs in the Changdong New Economic Center; and the 'Dobong-type Hope Incentive Support Project,' which supports employment incentives for residents, aids local small businesses, and helps create jobs for residents.
Additionally, Dobong-gu operates the 'Dobong Employment Academy' to nurture talent tailored to the Korean New Deal. In 2021, specialized courses such as 'VR/AR-based Architectural Construction (Tile Technician) Training,' 'Eco-friendly Energy Management Specialist Course,' and 'Drone Specialist Training' were offered with high response. This year, professional vocational training expected to meet growing job demand, including 'Metaverse Content Production Education,' 'Eco-friendly Vehicle Maintenance Education,' and 'Landscape Management Specialist Education,' will be conducted.
Dobong-gu achieved 13,046 jobs in 2021, surpassing the target of 10,293 by 126%.
Mayor Lee Dong-jin of Dobong-gu said, "According to the Statistics Korea Economic Activity Survey, Seoul's employment rate has risen for 12 consecutive months, and the number of employed persons has increased for three consecutive months, reaching 99.5% of the pre-COVID-19 level. However, the actual sense of job recovery still feels slow. We will do our best to effectively implement the detailed job creation projects in Dobong-gu in 2022 so that residents can work actively and the local economy can circulate positively."
The 2022 Dobong-gu Job Creation Promotion Plan can be viewed on the Ministry of Employment and Labor's '2022 Regional Job Target Disclosure System' website and Dobong-gu's official website.
Gwangjin-gu (Mayor Kim Seon-gap) held two sessions of the 'Small Business Support Project Resident Listening Sessions' on the 23rd and 25th to listen to the difficulties faced by small business owners struggling due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic and to provide useful information.
This resident listening session was co-hosted by the district, the Small Enterprise and Market Service, and the Seoul Credit Guarantee Foundation to listen to on-site voices and implement local economic policies reflecting them.
First, each organization provided guidance on support projects, procedures, and application methods for small business owners.
Since 2020, Gwangjin-gu has been promoting the 'Gwangjin-type Small Business Interest-Free and Guarantee-Free Special Loan' support, the first of its kind in Seoul. This project was adopted as a Seoul city-district cooperative project for COVID-19 crisis response and expanded to all autonomous districts in Seoul.
Over two years, it established the largest guarantee fund among Seoul districts at 101 billion KRW, executed loans totaling 82.4 billion KRW, and contributed to stabilizing management for 3,732 small businesses.
This year, support has been significantly expanded. Interest and guarantee fees incurred during loans will be supported for two years instead of one, and the loan limit per business will be raised from 20 million KRW to 30 million KRW. Existing borrowers can also receive additional support up to 30 million KRW.
Park Dae-won, head of the Southern Regional Headquarters of the Seoul Credit Guarantee Foundation, said, "Our foundation was considering support measures for small businesses struggling due to COVID-19 when Gwangjin-gu proposed waiving interest and guarantee fees first. We appreciate this good idea."
The district is also promoting a small and medium enterprise development fund loan support program, offering loans up to 100 million KRW at a low annual interest rate of 1.5% for small business owners needing more funds.
To revitalize the depressed commercial districts and stimulate local consumption, Gwangjin-gu has been issuing the Gwangjin Love Gift Certificates since 2020. This year, in addition to 21 billion KRW supported by national and city funds, the district plans to issue an additional 10 billion KRW worth of gift certificates fully funded by the district.
Moreover, the district supports small business owners in various ways, including the opening of the Gwangjin Economic Hub Center, the 'Gwangjin-gu Ddaenggyeoyo' kind public delivery app, customized management clinics for alleyway commercial districts, and support for market development of excellent products.
The district used this opportunity to guide support projects and help connect small business owners with tailored support projects suitable for their situations.
Mayor Kim Seon-gap of Gwangjin-gu said, "We always listen to the voices on the ground to be a pillar for small business owners. Although the district is implementing various policies to recover the local economy, we understand that you may feel it is insufficient. Please feel free to share your good opinions."
Following this, representatives from the Small Enterprise and Market Service and the Seoul Credit Guarantee Foundation explained their roles and support policies and listened to questions and suggestions about the projects.
Small business owners collectively pointed out the limitation that some industries are excluded from government disaster relief funds.
In response, Mayor Kim Seon-gap explained the limitation that priority support should be given to direct damage and provided information on support funds available beyond restricted industries.
Also, a small business owner said, "I am a borrower of the Gwangjin-type special loan, and I heard that support has expanded this year. I wonder if I can repay the existing loan and get a new loan with two years of interest-free and guarantee-free terms."
Mayor Kim replied, "We will discuss with the Seoul Credit Guarantee Foundation and organize it so that many people can benefit."
Finally, Mayor Kim Seon-gap said, "The district is promoting various support projects, but if you do not apply, you cannot enjoy the benefits. Please actively use the Gwangjin-gu official website."
He added, "We will continue to listen to voices from the field and strive to revitalize the local economy through support for small business owners, promotion of local consumption, and job support."
Gangbuk-gu (Mayor Park Gyeom-su) signed a business agreement with three Shinhan Bank branches in the area (Gangbuk Financial Center, Gangbuk-gu Office Branch, Mia-dong Branch) to prevent jeonse fraud.
The agreement ceremony was held on the 28th at Gangbuk-gu Office, attended by Mayor Park Gyeom-su, Shinhan Bank Gangbuk Financial Center Head Jung Jun-young, and other officials from both organizations.
Through this agreement, the two organizations agreed to promote awareness of the risks and prevention methods of jeonse fraud to protect residents' property rights and prevent such fraud.
First, the district will distribute brochures detailing types of jeonse fraud and precautions to Shinhan Bank. Based on these brochures, Shinhan Bank branches in the area will inform residents visiting for jeonse loan consultations about the risks and prevention methods of jeonse fraud to prevent it.
Prior to this agreement, the district formed a real estate price information team consisting of 13 licensed real estate agents to provide real estate price information to Shinhan Bank branches in the area. A district official said, "If you are about to sign a jeonse contract, we strongly recommend checking prices at nearby real estate offices and consulting with financial institutions about jeonse loans."
Mayor Park Gyeom-su of Gangbuk-gu said, "If the public and private sectors actively cooperate in prevention activities, jeonse fraud damage can be minimized. I hope this agreement will play a significant role in enhancing the safety of lease contracts and protecting residents' property."
Gwanak-gu (Mayor Park Jun-hee) has established the customized '2022 Gwanak-gu Youth Job Support Implementation Plan' reflecting district support characteristics to help young people overcome the employment crisis and gain hope through the happiness of working, and is continuously implementing various projects.
The '2022 Gwanak-gu Youth Job Support Implementation Plan' operates under the vision 'Youth Achieve Dreams and Hope Through Work,' focusing on three strategic tasks: ▲Employment and startup infrastructure building ▲Education and information provision ▲Expansion of welfare support.
First, to build employment and startup infrastructure, the district plans to create a total of 405 public youth jobs through Seoul Citizen Safe Jobs Project, Seoul-type New Deal Jobs Project, and university student part-time jobs. In addition, ongoing public and private employment-linked youth job projects such as the region-led youth job project and Gwanak Youth Space Manager Project, as well as continuous youth job creation projects like youth center operation managers and youth network coordinators, will be focused on.
Efforts will also be made to facilitate private job placements. Along with operating the Gwanak Job Center, events such as online job fairs and Ilgu Day will be promoted.
Furthermore, youth entrepreneur support and training programs such as the Gwanak Youth Small Business One Meal Sharing Regional Coexistence Project and Global Seller Online Startup Master, as well as various startup infrastructures like Gwanak S Valley, Iruda Startup Workshop, and university campus towns, will support youth startup activities.
In the education and information provision field, the district operates the Sillim-dong Three-Room Comprehensive Counseling Desk, Gwanak-gu-Samsung Electronics Youth Employment Mentoring, AI aptitude tests, and interview experience centers. Projects such as job camps with current mentors and youth employment talk concerts are also planned. Notably, big data expert training for nurturing IT professionals in the 4th industrial revolution has received great response from youth, and live commerce operation training is planned for the second half of the year.
In welfare support, various projects are underway to help youth overcome employment crises, including employment incentives for unemployed youth suffering from prolonged COVID-19, asset formation support projects for low-income youth to encourage work and asset building, and the Euddeum Gwanak Youth Account Project.
A district official said, "In the frozen employment market due to COVID-19, Gwanak-gu, which has the highest youth population ratio nationwide, will take the lead in strengthening youth job capabilities through systematic youth job support policies so that young people can have hope through the happiness of working."
Gangdong-gu (Mayor Lee Jeong-hoon) held the opening ceremony of the 'Gangdong Youth Startup SPACE' on the 28th on the 2nd floor of Cheonho Station Hangang Youth Housing.
'Gangdong Youth Startup SPACE' is a startup incubating space that provides office space, technology and management consulting, networking, etc., to young entrepreneurs with growth potential according to the demand for startup spaces, supporting stable management activities and continuous growth.
The newly opened 'Gangdong Youth Startup SPACE' is the third youth startup space in Gangdong-gu, following the Youth Haenaem Center (1057 Cheonho-daero) and Gangdong Youth Work-Play Town (796 Olympic-ro), established on the 2nd floor of Cheonho Station Youth Housing with a dedicated area of approximately 153㎡ (46 pyeong) through a donation of use.
On the 2nd, considering business performance and growth potential, four selected youth companies completed moving in. Various startup capability programs and startup support services will be provided not only to resident companies but also to (prospective) entrepreneurs and youth interested in startups.
Meanwhile, about 20 people, including Mayor Lee Jeong-hoon of Gangdong-gu, representatives of resident companies, and local residents, attended the opening ceremony on the 28th to celebrate the new start of 'Gangdong Youth Startup SPACE.'
Mayor Lee Jeong-hoon of Gangdong-gu said, "Nurturing startups with growth potential is an important task that lays the foundation for regional economic development. We will continue to develop policies to foster youth companies."
Eunpyeong-gu (Mayor Kim Mi-kyung) urged residents to report housing lease contracts to the local community service center within 30 days of contract signing, according to the implementation of the Housing Lease Contract Reporting System.
The Housing Lease Contract Reporting System, first implemented in June last year, is currently in a one-year guidance period. A district official emphasized that contracts made after June 1 last year must be reported by May 31, and from June 1, delayed or false reports will be subject to a comprehensive investigation by the district's inspection department and fines up to 1 million KRW.
The reporting target includes all new, changed, or terminated housing lease contracts with a deposit exceeding 60 million KRW or monthly rent exceeding 300,000 KRW. Reporting can be done by visiting the community service center where the housing is located or through the online Real Estate Transaction Management System for non-face-to-face reporting.
A district official said, "The Housing Lease Reporting System aims to transparently disclose housing lease information and protect tenants' rights. We plan to continuously promote the system to ensure smooth settlement."
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