[Seoul District News] Seong Jang-hyun, Yongsan-gu Mayor, Completes 62 of 77 Pledges (84.9%) with Over 90 Points in 5 Areas Including 2021 Goals... Lee Seong, Guro-gu Mayor, Achieves 91% Fulfillment in 89 Pledges Including Saseonggyo Expansion and Garibong Market Modernization... Yangcheon-gu Receives Highest SA Grade in 7th Term Manifesto Pledge Evaluation... Seocho-gu Earns SA Grade for 6 Consecutive Years in Manifesto Pledge Evaluation
Yongsan District Mayor Seong Jang-hyun is delivering a congratulatory speech at the opening ceremony of the Yongsan History Museum on March 23.
[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] Yongsan-gu (Mayor Seongchang Hyun) received the highest grade, SA, in the "7th Local Government Heads' Pledge Fulfillment and Information Disclosure Evaluation" conducted by the Korea Manifesto Practice Headquarters.
Seongchang Hyun, who has led the district administration for 12 years since the 5th local government, achieved the highest score in the final evaluation of the 7th local government pledge fulfillment, earning the honor of being a "mayor who keeps promises to residents until the end."
In this evaluation, Yongsan-gu scored highly across five categories: pledge fulfillment completion, 2021 goal achievement, resident communication, web communication, and pledge consistency, achieving an overall score of over 90 points.
The 7th local government’s district pledge projects cover 77 items across six fields: welfare, education, safety, culture and tourism, local economy, and regional development. Among them, 26 pledges were completed, 36 are ongoing after implementation, and 11 are progressing normally, totaling 62 pledges (84.9%) completed or implemented.
Major pledge projects include the designation of the Yongsan History and Culture Renaissance Special Zone, expansion and facility improvement of the recycling sorting center, construction of the Yongsan History Museum, and promotion of the Yongsan Master Plan "Yongsan Metropolitan Center Future Vision."
The designation of the regional specialized development special zone, a representative pledge project of the 7th local government, was achieved in April 2020. The Ministry of SMEs and Startups designated 181 parcels (578,866.7㎡) including Hangang-ro 3-ga 65-154 as the "Yongsan History and Culture Renaissance Special Zone," continuing to generate local income and jobs until 2024.
The recycling sorting center facility improvement was completed in October 2021. The sorting center area increased by 9.3%, from 1,036㎡ to 1,132㎡. The power distribution panel capacity was increased by 200kw to 500kw, and a water tank room was added. The sorting line’s heating and cooling efficiency was enhanced, and restrooms, break rooms, and an in-house cafeteria were newly established, greatly improving the working environment for sorting workers.
As a culture and tourism pledge project, the Yongsan History Museum, which was progressing normally until the end of last year, opened in March this year. The former Yongsan Railway Hospital, Registered Cultural Heritage No. 428, was reborn as a local history specialized museum. Within a week of opening, daily visitors exceeded 600, gaining popularity among residents.
The promotion of the Yongsan Master Plan "Yongsan Metropolitan Center Future Vision" is underway through the reorganization of the Yongsan district unit plan. The reorganization plan divides the area into five zones: Seoul Station, Samgakji, Electronics Market, east side of Hangang-daero, and maintenance depot, and establishes a plan. Resident opinion hearings and consultations with related departments were completed in May last year, and the plan is expected to be finalized this year after review by the city’s Urban Architecture Joint Committee.
More detailed information about the district’s pledge projects can be found on the district office website under "Open Mayor’s Office."
Mayor Seongchang Hyun said, "In my New Year's address, I promised to lay the foundation for irreversible development of Yongsan this year," adding, "I will do my best to complete the remaining pledges during my term and ensure that the restarted Yongsan development gets on the right track."
Lee Seong, Mayor of Guro-gu, received the highest grade, SA, in the "7th Local Government Heads' Pledge Fulfillment and Information Disclosure Evaluation" conducted by the Korea Manifesto Practice Headquarters.
Mayor Lee has achieved the highest grade for five consecutive years, including the "2018 Pledge Fulfillment and Information Disclosure Evaluation," "2019 Pledge Implementation Plan Evaluation," "2020 Pledge Fulfillment and Information Disclosure Evaluation," and "2021 Pledge Fulfillment and Information Disclosure Evaluation."
The Korea Manifesto Practice Headquarters analyzed and evaluated 16,423 pledge information items disclosed on the websites of 226 cities, counties, and districts nationwide from December 3 last year to March 31 this year, announcing the results on the 1st.
The evaluation categories include pledge fulfillment completion (100 points), goal achievement (100 points), resident communication (100 points), web communication (Pass/Fail), and pledge consistency (Pass/Fail). Based on the combined comprehensive evaluation results, grades are classified into five levels: SA, A, B, C, and D. Guro-gu received the highest grade, SA, with an overall score above 90 by earning balanced scores across all five evaluation categories.
In particular, as of December 2021, Guro-gu achieved a 91% fulfillment rate in 89 pledge projects across five core areas: welfare and safety, education and culture, smart industry, green city, and regional balanced development.
They kept promises in various fields such as expanding main roads centered on Saseonggyo, Yeondong-ro, and Garibong-dong, modernizing Garibong Market, installing convenience facilities at Guil Station and Guro Station platforms, creating an international culture and arts street, and establishing water play areas in Deokui and Cheonwang Neighborhood Parks.
Guro-gu has continued to receive awards for 13 consecutive years in various evaluations conducted by the Korea Manifesto Practice Headquarters. Starting with the excellent award in the local election pledge category in 2010, it received awards in integrity (2011), job creation (2012), pledge fulfillment (2013), local election pledge book (2014), urban regeneration (2015), youth issue resolution (2016), regional culture revitalization (2017), local election pledge document (2018), citizen participation and village autonomy (2019), regional culture revitalization (2020), and anti-corruption, integrity, and rights improvement (2021).
A Guro-gu official said, "The effort to think from the residents’ perspective and consider practical measures led to good results," adding, "We will do our best in the remaining period to keep promises to residents."
Yangcheon-gu (Mayor Kim Soo-young) received the highest overall grade, SA (total score above 90), in the "2022 Nationwide Local Government Heads' Pledge Fulfillment and Information Disclosure Evaluation" conducted by the Korea Manifesto Practice Headquarters.
The Korea Manifesto Practice Headquarters formed an evaluation team of experts and activists and comprehensively analyzed and evaluated the 7th local government pledge fulfillment performance based on pledge fulfillment data disclosed on local government websites nationwide from February 14 to March 25.
The evaluation categories were pledge fulfillment completion (100 points), 2021 goal achievement (100 points), resident communication (100 points), web communication (Pass/Fail), and consistency (Pass/Fail). Each category was evaluated according to detailed indicators and converted into a total score out of 100, with final results announced in five grades (SA, A, B, C, D).
Yangcheon-gu is promoting a total of 61 pledges under six visions of the 7th local government: "A vibrant city where the joy of working is shared (Young)," "A green and clean ecological city (Eco)," "A new level future city (Smart)," "An inclusive city where families are happy (You)," "The most advanced education city (Edu)," and "A sustainable safe city (Safety)."
As of the end of 2021, 52 of the 61 pledge projects, or 85%, were completed. Notably, all 14 pledge projects under the "An inclusive city where families are happy (You)" vision were completed, highlighting the fulfillment of welfare-related pledges.
Despite the challenging environment due to COVID-19, Yangcheon-gu actively worked to promote pledges. Completed projects include creating one creative playground per neighborhood, enacting the Education Safety Support Ordinance, utilizing public contribution facilities in the complex development of the Western Truck Terminal site, constructing the Sinwol 6-dong Administrative Complex Town, and building the Galsan Culture and Arts Center. These results were achieved by steadily pursuing pledge projects planned and designed from the early stages of the 7th local government, contributing to improving residents’ quality of life.
Additionally, the district made active efforts to communicate with residents through both online and offline methods. They established a smart map that allows residents to check the status of pledge implementation by project, pledge maps by neighborhood, and real-time urban status via PC or mobile, creating a data-sharing system with residents.
Especially, the active communication using media to reflect residents’ voices in district administration received high marks in the resident communication category. The district built the Yangcheon Digital Media Center on the 3rd floor of the district office building as a new communication platform, increasing skinship with residents through video and broadcasting, which residents actively responded to.
Mayor Kim Soo-young of Yangcheon-gu said about the evaluation results, "We were able to achieve good results because of the active participation and cooperation of residents during the 7th local government pledge fulfillment process," emphasizing, "We will continue to cherish promises to residents and do our best to complete ongoing pledge projects well to realize trusted administration."
Seocho-gu received the highest grade, SA, for six consecutive years in the "2022 Nationwide Local Government Heads' Pledge Fulfillment and Information Disclosure Evaluation" conducted by the Korea Manifesto Practice Headquarters.
The Korea Manifesto Evaluation Team conducted this evaluation for about one and a half months from February, targeting local governments nationwide. The evaluation covered five areas: pledge fulfillment completion, pledge goal achievement, resident communication, web communication, and pledge consistency, classifying results into five grades from SA to D.
Seocho-gu’s acquisition of the SA grade this time is the result of leading "nationwide standard projects" with various innovative administrations and fresh ideas even in the untact situation during the COVID-19 era, and above all, the fruit of "life-oriented communication administration" that actively reflected what residents want.
So far, the district has promoted 50 projects in nine major areas as pledges of the 7th local government, reflecting residents’ needs and social issues: safety, transportation, welfare, economy, environmental health, urban regeneration, childcare and education, culture and sports, and communication.
Representative pledge fulfillment projects include the opening of the Seoripul Tunnel, Seocho-type urban regeneration project No. 1 revitalizing Yangjae Maljukgeori commercial district, and fostering Yangjae R&CD as a 4th industrial hub.
In fact, the district’s pledge items and innovative policy ideas have become benchmarks for other local governments. Representative examples include the "Runway-type Crosswalk," which installed LED guide lights alongside crosswalks to greatly reduce nighttime traffic accidents; the "Single Single Project" supporting single-person households needing social safety nets such as vulnerable health and women’s safety; the innovative "Seocho Women’s Job Corporation" for career-interrupted women; the "Seocho-type Shared Daycare Center," which combines different childcare facilities such as public, private, and home daycare centers to drastically reduce child waiting lists; the "Hope Ladder Project," which supports the full independence of children leaving protective care through multifaceted support from basic livelihood to psychological and emotional safety; the "Seocho Child Development Center" for infants and toddlers at risk of disability; and the "Seoripul Saem," a Seocho-type education safety net to eliminate educational opportunity inequality for low-income vulnerable groups.
With these efforts, Seocho-gu has solidified its position as Korea’s number one innovative administration, maintaining first place with an overwhelming margin by having 138 of the 734 excellent cases selected from local government innovation cases operated by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety’s "Government Innovation 1st Street."
Acting Mayor Cheon Jeong-wook said, "The acquisition of the SA grade for six consecutive years is the result achieved together with about 1,500 Seocho colleagues and residents who have worked hard to keep promises with residents," adding, "We will continue to strive to implement innovative administration that helps residents’ lives."
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