Jungnang-gu Launches Happy Jungnang Vision Committee

[Seoul District News] Jungnang-gu Holds Launch Ceremony for 'Happy Jungnang Vision Committee' Composed of Residents and Experts on the 20th to Review and Advise on Campaign Projects; Sets Policy Direction and Details Campaigns for the 8th Term... Gangseo-gu Awards 22 Exemplary Citizens from 2 Groups and Individuals in First Half of 2022... Yongsan-gu Launches 2022 Age-Friendly City Monitoring Team... Seocho-gu Conducts Public-Private Joint Campaign to Visit Neighbors in Need and Identify Welfare Blind Spots... 'Seoul Jung-gu Ai Sarang Talk' KakaoTalk Channel Launched for Real-Time Childcare Center Child Abuse Monitoring

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Jungnang-gu (Mayor Ryu Kyung-gi) is operating the ‘Happy Jungnang Vision Committee’ to establish substantial and feasible plans for the 8th term of the elected government’s pledge projects and to implement administration together with residents.

The ‘Happy Jungnang Vision Committee’ is composed of 29 experts from various fields such as local residents, education, and economy to establish pledge projects that resonate from the residents’ perspective and to review their validity and feasibility.

The district expects that by forming the Vision Committee, creative ideas from residents and experts will be incorporated into district administration, enabling the drawing of a roadmap for the 8th term of the elected government.

The Vision Committee, which held its inauguration ceremony on the 20th, will set the policy direction for the 8th term and concretize the pledge projects. By mid-next month, it plans to thoroughly review 125 projects across seven major sectors. The committee is divided into three subcommittees: ▲Education, Culture, and Cooperation ▲Economy, Health, and Welfare ▲Urban Development and Residential Environment. Subcommittee meetings, plenary sessions, and result reporting meetings will be held, with focused discussions on key issues to review and advise on the pledges.

Based on the advisory content presented by the Vision Committee, the district will establish project plans, finalize the 8th term pledge projects in October, and formulate the pledge implementation plan in November.

Ryu Kyung-gi, Mayor of Jungnang-gu, said, “It is meaningful that a communication channel with local residents and experts has been established through the newly formed Vision Committee. Through abundant policy proposals and opinion gathering centered on the committee, we will be able to lay a successful foundation for the 8th term of the elected government together with the residents.”

Jungnang-gu has selected the following as the vision for the 8th term: ▲Hopeful Future Education City Jungnang ▲Vibrant Economy Jungnang ▲Urban Development to Foster Growth Engines ▲Rapid Residential Environment Improvement through Redevelopment ▲Culture Jungnang Enjoyed by All ▲Warm Welfare Jungnang Together ▲Cooperative Governance Jungnang with Communication and Participation.

Gangseo-gu, Seoul (Mayor Noh Hyun-song) held the ‘2022 First Half Model and Good Citizen Commendation Ceremony’ at 3 p.m. on the 21st in the district office’s large conference room.

At the ceremony, two organizations and 22 exemplary citizens who contributed to community harmony and local development in areas such as ▲COVID-19 quarantine activities ▲social service ▲support activities for vulnerable groups received commendation certificates.

Mayor Noh Hyun-song said, “Thanks to the residents who have practiced good deeds and neighborly love in various ways throughout the region, we have received excellent evaluations both domestically and internationally, such as ranking first in innovative growth among Seoul’s autonomous districts over the past 10 years and receiving the highest grade for pledge fulfillment evaluation for 11 consecutive years. I deeply thank all residents who actively participated in district development.”

The district annually awards the Model Citizen Award to hidden contributors within the community who have dedicated themselves to the development of district administration.

Yongsan-gu (Mayor Sung Chang-hyun) held the inauguration ceremony for the 2nd Elderly Monitoring Group for an Age-Friendly City on the 20th at the Yongsan Art Hall Cultural Lecture Room.

This is to create an environment where elderly people, the direct beneficiaries of age-friendly policies, can actively participate in district administration, understand their diverse opinions and needs, and discover customized policies.

The inauguration ceremony lasted one hour and included the presentation of appointment letters, encouragement speeches, commemorative photos, practical training, and subcommittee formation meetings, attended by Mayor Sung Chang-hyun and 30 members of the 2nd Elderly Monitoring Group.

The 30 elderly members selected for the 2nd group (2 men, 28 women) will serve a one-year term from this month until May 2023. From June to September, they will inspect the progress of the age-friendly city projects currently underway in the district, and from October to November, they will serve as surveyors evaluating age-friendliness among residents.

Mayor Sung Chang-hyun said, “As beneficiaries and proposers of policies, the ideas of the Elderly Monitoring Group can positively influence the age-friendly city projects promoted by the district. Based on the role of the monitoring group, we will take the lead in creating a friendly city Yongsan where all generations are happy.”

The district enacted the ‘Basic Ordinance on the Promotion of Elderly Welfare for the Realization of an Age-Friendly City in Yongsan-gu, Seoul’ in 2020 and established a mid- to long-term plan through research on Yongsan-type age-friendly city creation. Recognized for this, it obtained the ‘International Certification of Age-Friendly City’ from the World Health Organization (WHO) in February 2021 and became a member city.

Seocho-gu is conducting the ‘Dalgona Check-in Alley Campaign’ simultaneously across all Seocho-gu districts for three days starting today, in cooperation with community service centers, private organizations, and local residents to intensively discover vulnerable groups in welfare blind spots.

The ‘Dalgona Check-in Alley Campaign,’ which means ‘Running to Share Concerns Together,’ started last year to identify households in crisis within welfare blind spots suffering from prolonged COVID-19 difficulties. In five Seocho-gu districts, workers from public and private institutions and local residents visit vulnerable residential areas such as boarding houses and underground housing to check on residents, provide welfare service information, and deliver 694 boxes of food support packages (including jangjorim set, canned and instant foods, cosmetics, etc.) to vulnerable groups.

Notably, while last year’s campaign involved residents from three districts?Bangbae, Seocho, and Banpo?this year it has expanded to include all districts, adding Yangjae 1 and Yangjae 2 Naegok districts. Neighbors with a high understanding of local characteristics and environment, such as the Dong Community Security Council and resident welfare planners, participate actively to discover local businesses that can connect vulnerable groups with welfare resource networks.

Corporate participation is also expanding. To support the food packages, Sajodaerim, which signed a sponsorship agreement for the Hope Sharing Project in March, provided room-temperature canned and instant foods, and the Human Skin Clinical Trial Center supported various cosmetics donated through the ‘Cosmetics Donation Platform,’ showing active corporate involvement with warm hands.

Additionally, visits are made to life-oriented businesses (convenience stores, real estate agencies, pharmacies, etc.) in commercial areas of multi-use facilities to place promotional materials about welfare blind spots and request cooperation in discovering those needing welfare services, thereby building a welfare resource network in Seocho-gu.

Last year, through the Dalgona Check-in Alley Campaign, the district supported over 1,700 residents with COVID-19 prevention kits, groceries, and other items, and provided on-site welfare counseling and welfare service guidance.

Meanwhile, to create a warm welfare Seocho without welfare blind spots, the district is conducting specialized local projects tailored to each of the five districts through the Seocho-type public-private welfare cooperation system to discover and support blind spots. These include nutrition support for single-person households by district, production and distribution of welfare newsletters for vulnerable groups, Seoripul Mami lunchbox project, and Love You Meal Kit support project.

Oh Chang-young, Director of Welfare Policy, said, “We will continue to visit and discover neighbors in need, such as young and middle-aged single-person households or elderly living alone who may feel isolated, together with private organizations, companies, and local residents, and do our best to prevent welfare blind spots from occurring.”

Jung-gu, Seoul has taken measures to enable immediate reporting if abuse or inappropriate discipline is suspected at local daycare centers.

On the 20th, Jung-gu announced that it has started operating the ‘Seoul Jung-gu Child Love Talk’ KakaoTalk channel from this month. ‘Seoul Jung-gu Child Love Talk’ can be accessed by adding the channel within KakaoTalk, allowing real-time consultation and reporting when child abuse is suspected.

If parents of children at local daycare centers or child welfare workers discover a child at risk of abuse, they can report by providing simple personal information of the child or family and details of suspected abuse in the KakaoTalk channel chat window. The reporting and consultation chat operates on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Once a report or consultation is received, the responsible official conducts a conversation and then visits the site to check CCTV and conduct guidance and inspection. If abuse is confirmed, the case is immediately reported to specialized agencies for emergency measures and service linkage for the at-risk child.

This channel allows guardians, who have had many restrictions due to work and childcare, to conveniently report child abuse anytime and anywhere. The district can intervene immediately to create a safer and more trusted childcare environment. Also, even if guardians suspect abuse or feel anxious, they often hesitate to report to the police; having the district office operate the first consultation window reduces the burden of reporting.

Despite ongoing improvements in overall childcare environment, capacity training for childcare teachers, and strengthened penalties, child abuse in daycare centers has not yet been eradicated. Voices calling for early intervention through continuous reporting and consultation are steadily increasing.

Yangcheon-gu will hold the ‘Veterans Family Festival’ on the 22nd in celebration of the Month of National Defense and Veterans in June.

The ‘Veterans Family Festival’ is an event prepared to remember the sacrifices and contributions of veterans who dedicated themselves to the country and to express gratitude. This is the second event since its first in 2018, which had been suspended due to COVID-19 but is now resuming.

About 400 members from 10 veterans (security) organizations, including the Korean War Veterans Association, will participate. The festival will be held at 2 p.m. on the 22nd at Haenuri Hall in Haenuri Town, featuring an award ceremony for exemplary veterans and cultural performances for veterans’ families.

The exemplary veteran awards will be given to national veterans and their families who contributed to the activation of veterans’ organizations and local community development. The district plans to express respect and gratitude through awards to 20 individuals recommended by each veterans’ organization.

The following cultural performance for veterans’ families will open with ‘We Sing Your Requested Songs, Love Yangcheon Center!’ Four professional musical actors will perform lively dances and energetic songs to greatly enhance the excitement of the audience.

Especially, since all performance songs are based on pre-submitted requests from attendees, the audience response is expected to be enthusiastic, raising expectations for the event.

Additionally, a video featuring veterans’ past heroic stories, special episodes, and memorable photos will be screened, providing heartfelt emotion and entertainment.

For more detailed information about the richly prepared and diverse ‘Veterans Family Festival,’ please contact the Welfare Policy Division.

A Welfare Policy Division official said, “It is an honor to gather veterans who sacrificed and dedicated themselves to the country again, and we will continue to create opportunities to uphold and honor the pride of all veterans.”