Yongsan-gu Senior Public Officials Inform Junior Officials About 'Integrity'?... Seocho-gu 'Civil Complaint Waiting Number Notification Talk' Service

[Seoul District News] Yongsan-gu to Hold In-Person Training for 58 New Appointees in Two Sessions on April 26-27 at District Office 8th Floor Computer Training Room; 4th-Year Integrity Officer Seong Ji-young and Certified Coach Jeong Eul-gyun, Yongsan Public Officials Union Branch Chief, to Lead Sessions... Seocho-gu Notifies Waiting Numbers via KakaoTalk through 'Mobile Ticketing' Menu on Kiosks... Gwangjin-gu Provides Customized Anti-Corruption Integrity Training Including Conflict of Interest Prevention Law... Songpa-gu Expands 'Online Coaching Teacher' Personalized Tutoring Program... Yeongdeungpo-gu Collaborates with Korail and Ongdalsem Center

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Yongsan-gu (Mayor Seong Jang-hyun) conducted integrity education for newly appointed public officials on April 26-27. The purpose was to help cultivate a proper sense of integrity based on an understanding of the public service community.

The participants were 58 Yongsan-gu public officials newly appointed between November 2021 and January 2022. The training took place in the computer training room on the 8th floor of the district office from 4 p.m. for two hours, including writing an integrity pledge, on-site lectures, and commemorative photos.

The curriculum included ▲Code of Conduct for Public Officials ▲Improper Solicitation and Graft Act ▲Integrity Ethics ▲Cases of Workplace Harassment, among others.

A district official said, “It is regrettable that a 9th-grade public official in one district took an extreme step just one month after appointment in February,” adding, “Proper attention from senior officials will help new public officials adapt to the organization.”

The on-site lectures were delivered by Seong Ji-young, a 4th-year officer in charge of integrity affairs, and Jeong Eul-gyun, branch chief of the Yongsan branch of the Yongsan-gu Public Officials Union.

Seong Ji-young completed the ‘1st Internal Instructor Training Course for Anti-Corruption Education’ at the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission in March to help new public officials understand related laws and systems based on the experience of senior officials.

Jeong Eul-gyun, a supervisor coach (KSC) certified by the Korea Coach Association, introduced cases of workplace harassment and practical countermeasures.

Seong Jang-hyun, Mayor of Yongsan-gu, said, “Integrity is both a desirable value standard that public officials should pursue and a fundamental principle to protect oneself,” adding, “This education will be helpful for their future public service careers.”

In addition to integrity education for new employees, the district is making every effort to foster a clean public service culture by promoting beneficial anti-corruption education such as self-directed learning on integrity, online Golden Bell quizzes, field visits to exemplary officials, and integrity concerts.

Seocho-gu announced on the 27th that it has launched a ‘Civil Petition Waiting Number Notification Talk’ service to reduce the burden of on-site waiting for residents visiting the civil petition office due to increased demand following the transition to a COVID-19 endemic phase.

This service allows visitors to input their mobile phone number at a kiosk inside the civil petition office instead of printing a paper waiting number ticket. The system then notifies them of their waiting order via smartphone. Through KakaoTalk messages, it provides real-time updates on the number of people waiting and estimated waiting times, sending 1 to 3 notification messages according to the waiting order. Of course, the existing paper ticket issuance remains available for convenience.

The district plans to pilot the service first at integrated civil petition counters issuing resident registration certificates, family relation certificates, and seal certificates, then expand it to passport and family relation petition counters after continuous performance analysis and monitoring of civil petitioners.

Seocho-gu expects that once the ‘Civil Petition Waiting Number Notification Talk’ service is established, citizens will be able to use their waiting time more efficiently by attending to other tasks, enabling the provision of smart administrative services.

Since March 2020, Seocho-gu has been operating a real-time ‘Civil Petition Waiting Status Notification Service’ that allows citizens to check the number of people waiting in the civil petition office online anytime, anywhere. This service helps citizens avoid peak hours and prevents congestion in the office, receiving positive evaluations from residents.

To use the service, visit the Seocho-gu website and navigate to ‘E-OK Civil Petition → Civil Petition Comprehensive Guide → Civil Petition Waiting Status’ to view real-time waiting status and congestion levels at a glance.

Cheon Jeong-wook, Acting Mayor of Seocho-gu, said, “We will continue to actively promote citizen-centered smart civil petition administrative services to enhance residents’ satisfaction with administration.”

Gwangjin-gu will conduct customized anti-corruption integrity education for about 200 employees, including newly appointed and promoted staff and those in corruption-prone fields, on April 27 and 28.

This education will cover the ‘Conflict of Interest Prevention Act’ effective May 19, the revised ‘Improper Solicitation and Graft Act,’ and the supplemented ‘Code of Conduct for Public Officials,’ aiming to strengthen the integrity sensitivity of district public officials with the latest content.

In particular, the ‘Conflict of Interest Prevention Act’ was enacted to ensure fair performance of duties by preventing public officials from pursuing private interests during their work. The education includes explanations of the law’s purpose and aims to establish a stable implementation foundation before the law takes effect.

The training will be conducted online in real-time via Zoom by a professional instructor registered with the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission’s Integrity Training Institute.

To maximize effectiveness, the training will be divided over two days for 100 public officials by career stage, such as newly appointed or promoted employees, and 100 employees handling corruption-prone tasks like permits and subsidies.

The district expects this education to provide an opportunity for public officials to quickly learn and thoroughly respond to changing integrity policies and laws, spreading a trustworthy and clean public service culture to residents.

Additionally, Gwangjin-gu operates various initiatives such as ▲Integrity Happy Call operation ▲Anonymous corruption reporting system (Helpline) ▲Publication of integrity newsletters and provision of integrity O/X quizzes ▲Implementation of one integrity practice task per department (dong) ▲Mandatory completion of 5 hours of integrity education.

Songpa-gu (Mayor Park Seong-su) announced on the 27th that it will expand the 1:1 Q&A program ‘Online Coaching Teacher’ to help students maintain confidence in their studies amid the rapidly changing educational environment due to COVID-19.

‘Online Coaching Teacher’ is a learning management program where students who find it difficult to solve problems or have questions while studying alone can connect one-on-one via video call with mentors on the Songpa Teacher Education Portal. University students participate as mentors to answer students’ questions in real time.

By providing customized learning support according to levels, the program helps students maintain interest in learning, filling the learning gaps caused by COVID-19 and fostering learning motivation.

Especially, the program started as a pilot in September last year and received positive feedback, so this year it will expand the target grades and subjects. Elementary school students in grades 4-6, middle school students in grades 1-3, and high school freshmen in the district can participate. Students can ask questions in math, science, and English.

Coaching is available every Tuesday to Friday from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. No prior application is required; students can log in to the Songpa Teacher Education Portal and ask questions whenever they need help while studying alone. Each student can receive coaching for up to 20 minutes, and the service is free of charge.

More details are available on the Songpa Teacher Education Portal.

Park Seong-su, Mayor of Songpa-gu, said, “We will generously support students through ‘Songpa Teacher’ so they can quickly adapt to the rapidly changing educational environment,” adding, “We will continue to strengthen customized support by level to create an environment where basic academic skills are firmly guaranteed without learning gaps or disparities.”

Songpa-gu operates its own education support system ‘Songpa Teacher,’ which includes ▲‘Future Education Center’ for learning advanced technologies of the 4th Industrial Revolution ▲‘Person Library’ sharing knowledge and wisdom of local celebrities and experts ▲‘Instrument Library & Music Creation Studio’ where residents can experience and enjoy musical instruments ▲‘Education Portal’ to search and apply for programs at 55 local educational facilities. Various programs support residents with a desire to learn, and the cumulative number of users of Songpa Teacher has reached 320,000 over three years.

Yeongdeungpo-gu operates the ‘2022 Homeless Job Creation Project’ as one of the measures to provide work opportunities to homeless people capable of working and to solve chronic cleaning complaints around Yeongdeungpo Station.

To promote the project in earnest, the district signed a business agreement on April 25 with Korea Railroad Corporation (KORAIL) and Ongdalsem Drop-in Homeless Welfare Facility.

The ‘Homeless Job Creation Project’ is a welfare program that connects and supports jobs in the public and private sectors for homeless people with self-reliance will, enhancing their work ability and self-sufficiency to help them settle stably back into the community.

This agreement was made to employ homeless people registered at the facility as environmental maintenance workers, aiming to improve their economic independence and solve the chronic littering problem around Yeongdeungpo Station.

The signing ceremony was held at 2 p.m. on April 25 in the general office on the 3rd floor of KORAIL Yeongdeungpo Station. The Social Welfare Division Chief of Yeongdeungpo-gu, Park Yong-ho, Station Manager of KORAIL Yeongdeungpo Station, and Park Seong-gon, Director of Ongdalsem Drop-in Center, attended and agreed to actively cooperate in the homeless job creation project.

Following this agreement, from May 1 to October 31, 14 homeless people registered at Ongdalsem Drop-in Center will clean and maintain the environment in the Yeongdeungpo Station waiting room, pedestrian passages, North Plaza area, bicycle parking lot, entrances around Lotte Department Store parking lot, and South Plaza area.

From May to July, seven workers will work in two shifts from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., and from August to October, the other seven workers will be deployed in the same time slots.

KORAIL will support labor costs and cleaning equipment expenses, Yeongdeungpo-gu will manage maintenance performance and other job connections, and Ongdalsem Drop-in Center will support homeless workers and manage attendance.

A district official said, “We hope this agreement will encourage the self-reliance will of homeless people and serve as a role model for other homeless individuals, creating a synergy effect for joint independence,” adding, “We will also strive to protect the rights of homeless people to live with dignity and establish a foundation for healthy social reintegration and rehabilitation.”

Gwanak-gu has prepared a meaningful humanities lecture for children in May, Family Month, to help them appreciate the importance of family and develop literary sensitivity.

The ‘Drawing Our Family Usage’ lecture offers an opportunity to think about the meaning and value of family with Kim Seong-jin, author of ‘How to Use Mom’ and a recipient of the Korean Andersen Award.

Participants will draw the usage of themselves, their mother, father, and the whole family, learning about each member’s role and rediscovering the often-forgotten presence of family. The program includes lectures directly from Kim Seong-jin, family drawing, and a reading Golden Bell quiz.

The ‘Drawing Our Family Usage’ lecture will be held for 20 elementary school students in the district on May 7 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

The ‘Reading, Writing, and Imagining Children’ lecture is designed for children who find reading, writing, or expressing their thoughts difficult.

With children’s author Jeong Ran-hee, participants will read four books: ▲The Button Witch’s Suspicious Restaurant ▲Lucky Family ▲My Younger Sibling’s Criticism Contest ▲Our Aunt. The program helps children naturally become familiar with books, express their thoughts, and learn effective ways to write using materials from daily life.

The ‘Reading, Writing, and Imagining Children’ lecture will be held for 15 elementary school students in grades 3-6 in the district from May 12 to June 2, every Thursday from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.

All lectures will be conducted as interactive online classes using Zoom to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Applications are free and accepted on a first-come, first-served basis via the Gwanak-gu website (Education → By Institution → Humanities Lecture Application). Applicants will receive the access link via text message and email before the lecture.

A district official said, “We hope children will have a valuable time easily engaging with humanities and developing literary knowledge and imagination through the humanities lectures prepared for Family Month in May.”

For more details about the lectures, contact the Gwanak-gu Humanities Support Center.

Gangbuk-gu (Mayor Park Gyeom-su) is conducting the ‘2022 Creative Idea Proposal Contest’ to discover residents’ creative ideas and reflect them in district policies.

This contest aims to enhance residents’ participation in district administration and improve the quality of administrative services by collecting opinions related to improving residents’ convenience, budget savings, and reforming unreasonable administrative systems.

The proposal areas include administrative systems, administrative services, and administrative operation improvements, as long as the ideas are creative and related to Gangbuk-gu affairs.

From this year, the participation scope has expanded to include not only Gangbuk-gu residents but also workers in Gangbuk-gu and members of schools within Gangbuk-gu.

Applicants can submit proposals via ▲Gangbuk-gu website (Citizen Participation → Citizen Proposals → Proposal Application) ▲email ▲mail (4th floor, Planning and Budget Division, 13 Dobong-ro 89-gil, Gangbuk-gu, Seoul). Proposal forms can be downloaded from the website.

Submitted proposals will be reviewed by the responsible department and evaluated by a judging committee, with final selections made by the end of December.

The district will select and award a total of eight winners: ▲1 Grand Prize (prize money 1 million KRW) ▲2 Excellence Awards (700,000 KRW each) ▲2 Encouragement Awards (500,000 KRW each) ▲3 Effort Awards (300,000 KRW each).

Selected excellent proposals will also be recommended for external evaluations such as the ‘Central Government Excellent Proposal.’ For detailed inquiries, contact the Gangbuk-gu Planning and Budget Division.

Last year, the district adopted seven proposals, including ‘Displaying caller information when a mobile phone rings’ and ‘Changing official mobile phones to cost-effective budget phones.’

Park Gyeom-su, Mayor of Gangbuk-gu, said, “I believe the fresh and diverse opinions of residents and staff will be the foundation for a happy Gangbuk-gu,” adding, “I hope many participate in the proposal contest with interest and affection for district administration.”