[Seoul Autonomous District News] Park Jun-hee, Gwanak-gu Mayor, Starts 'Gwanak Clean Day with the Mayor' Tour of All 21 Neighborhoods Beginning April 17 in Cheongnyong-dong, Promoting Alley Cleaning and Voluntary Cleaning Atmosphere with Residents... Seongbuk-gu Selects Best Practices and Outstanding Public Officials for Active Administration in First Half of 2022... Mapo-gu Completes Regular Inspection of 29 Ambulances in Operation... Songpa-gu Offers Free Dementia Early Screening 'Cognitive Screening Test'... Dongjak-gu Begins Underground Wiring Construction in Sangdo-ro and Sadang-ro Areas
eo-ung
[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Park Jun-hee, the mayor of Gwanak-gu, took a broom and went out for on-site administration in the alleys.
Park Jun-hee, who succeeded in re-election following the 7th local government term, set the beginning of the hopeful 8th local government term with the spread of a resident voluntary cleaning atmosphere, and from the 17th started in Cheongnyong-dong, conducting the ‘Clean Living Space Gwanak Clean Day with the Mayor’ by visiting all 21 neighborhoods over a month until July 20.
‘Gwanak Clean Day’ is an event where residents including neighborhood functional organizations, clean living space leaders, resident voluntary cleaning volunteer groups, and merchants voluntarily participate to focus on cleaning back alleys, traditional markets or commercial areas, and illegal dumping vulnerable areas together with the mayor for one hour from 7:30 a.m.
On the 20th, Mayor Park Jun-hee, who came out early at 7:30 a.m., warmly welcomed the residents and toured various alleyways together with the heads of functional organizations and the voluntary cleaning volunteer group composed of residents from the resident autonomy committee.
Starting from the neighborhood community center, they cleaned the neighborhood by visiting vulnerable cleaning areas such as narrow back alleys where people usually pass frequently and where illegal dumping of garbage habitually occurs.
Mayor Park Jun-hee said, “Garbage keeps appearing no matter how much you clean it,” and added, “Although the voluntary cleaning volunteer group composed of residents works hard to keep the village clean, it is important that residents always have the mindset to clean their own houses and stores by themselves.”
Mayor Park, who emphasizes dialogue and communication, usually stresses ‘Wumunhyundap’ (Our problems have answers on site) and promotes on-site administration.
During the 7th local government term, starting with the operation of ‘Mobile Gwanak Office’ visiting all 21 neighborhood community centers to address local issues, he has continued on-site communication administration by directly visiting welfare centers for the elderly, schools, and large construction sites. The cleaning administration is also one of the communication administrations to meet and talk with residents early in the morning.
Mayor Park is making efforts to create a clean Gwanak without garbage by addressing local residents’ complaints and finding solutions by visiting the site regarding illegal dumping and garbage issues, which are common issues for all local governments.
In addition, through this event, the district plans to intensively promote the ‘Transparent PET Bottle and Waste Vinyl Separate Disposal Day System’ for detached houses and commercial areas implemented since last year and the ‘Recyclable Goods Exclusive Bag Project’ targeting vulnerable areas for separate disposal to increase the recycling rate and induce voluntary cleaning participation by residents.
Mayor Park Jun-hee said, “I sincerely thank the residents who supported and encouraged me to work again as mayor following the 7th local government term,” and pledged, “I will continue to communicate with residents and promote on-site administration closely related to daily life so that residents can feel the changed and happy Gwanak.”
Seongbuk-gu (Mayor Lee Seung-ro) selected five excellent cases of proactive administration and nine outstanding public officials in the first half of 2022. Seongbuk-gu recently received proactive administration cases from all public officials belonging to Seongbuk-gu and selected five excellent cases among them. To spread the culture of proactive administration in the public service, nine main contributors of the excellent cases were selected as outstanding public officials for proactive administration.
In this process, fairness was enhanced in the selection process through the first round of evaluation by external expert judges, the second round of resident surveys via the Seongbuk-gu website, and the third round of final deliberation by the proactive administration committee, reflecting residents’ opinions. The evaluation comprehensively assessed resident perception (40 points), the staff’s proactiveness, creativity, and expertise (30 points), the importance and difficulty of the task (20 points), and the potential for dissemination (10 points), and classified the awards into excellent and encouragement grades.
First, the excellent grade cases were the ‘COVID-19 24-hour Response System Establishment Case’ by the Health Policy Division of Seongbuk-gu Health Center and the ‘Cheonjangsan Mountain Trail Maintenance Project’ by the Parks and Greenery Division.
The Emergency Patient Management T/F team of the Health Policy Division at Seongbuk-gu Health Center was highly evaluated for implementing duty shifts regardless of gender despite most staff being female, responding to emergencies at night, and for efforts to relieve anxiety of confirmed patients and help them recover safely to daily life through rapid bed allocation and early monitoring of high-risk groups (aged 60 and over, immunocompromised, etc.) when emergency patients peaked.
The other excellent grade case was the ‘Cheonjangsan Mountain Trail Maintenance Project’ by the Parks and Greenery Division. The demand to open the section blocked by the iron fence at the summit of Cheonjangsan has been raised several times since 2013 by residents. The project, which had been stalled due to protection of cultural heritage (Uireung) and military security reasons, was successfully promoted over two years through 13 civil-government-military meetings and continuous persuasion with the military and the Cultural Heritage Administration. The Cheonjangsan trail, extended by 150 meters where it had been disconnected, now features deck stairs and resting areas, boasting beautiful scenery. It is expected to satisfy residents’ increased desire for healing after the COVID-19 quarantine was lifted. This case received high scores for proactiveness in leading inter-agency consultations and resident perception.
The remaining three excellent cases all received encouragement grades. The Hope Support Team of the Welfare Policy Division swiftly and timely supported COVID-19 living support funds, taking preemptive measures such as setting up a dedicated window and deploying temporary staff amid the expected surge in applications due to the Omicron variant in the first half of 2022. In March this year, they processed 26,895 applications 100%, increasing civil complaint satisfaction.
The ‘Seongbuk-gu Real Estate Brokerage Notification Room’ using the Kakao Channel by the Cadastral Division operated a 1:1 chat service to promptly respond to real estate brokerage inquiries, demonstrating creativity and proactiveness during a time when non-face-to-face communication channels increased due to COVID-19.
Lastly, the Urban Regeneration Division clarified the ‘Guidelines for Consent Processing of City and National Public Land for Establishing Associations in Street Housing Maintenance Projects,’ establishing clear standards for issues with different interpretations related to street housing maintenance projects, preventing complaints caused by inconsistent administrative processing and enabling smooth project promotion even in areas with a high ratio of public land.
The main contributors of each excellent case, two with excellent grades and seven with encouragement grades, will receive the mayor’s commendation and personnel incentives according to their grade. The excellent grade receives the highest grade of performance pay incentives, and the encouragement grade is provided with reward leave.
Lee Seung-ro, mayor of Seongbuk-gu, said, “Seongbuk-gu selects excellent cases of proactive administration and outstanding public officials semiannually. Through efforts and performance evaluations of proactive administration, excellent cases are further disseminated, and employees who demonstrate creativity and proactiveness are appropriately rewarded to induce the practice of proactive administration in the public service.”
Mapo-gu announced on the 21st that it will conduct a regular inspection of the overall management status of 29 ambulances operating in the district by the end of this month.
The purpose is to ensure the safe operation of ambulances and improve the quality of emergency patient transport services.
The inspection targets are 29 ambulances operated in Mapo-gu, including 3 by health centers, 1 by medical institutions, 10 by fire stations, and 15 by private transport companies.
Inspection items according to the Emergency Medical Service Act include ▲attachment of the report (permit) certificate ▲consistency between transport treatment fees charged and received ▲compliance with internal standards such as ambulance form and markings ▲availability of medical equipment and emergency medicines ▲vehicle management of ambulances ▲compliance with ambulance personnel standards.
In addition, to eradicate private use of ambulances, the inspection will also focus on non-issuance of cash receipts and use of ambulances for purposes other than intended.
The district plans to immediately correct minor issues on site based on the inspection results and take necessary administrative actions such as suspension of work and fines according to relevant laws for institutions with violations.
For more details, contact the Medical Affairs Division of Mapo-gu Office. A district official said, “Through continuous inspections of ambulances, we will lead practical improvements in ambulance operation to ensure that residents receive prompt and appropriate medical services in emergencies.”
Songpa-gu (Mayor Park Seong-su) resumed the early dementia screening cognitive tests, which were partially suspended due to COVID-19, from June and will provide them free of charge year-round.
The district resumed the dementia early screening project as it normalized the work of Songpa-gu Health Center, which had been suspended for over two years to focus on COVID-19 response.
Any Songpa-gu resident can receive a free cognitive screening test (CIST) by visiting ▲Songpa-gu Health Center or ▲the Dementia Safety Center.
The Cognitive Impairment Screening Test (CIST) is conducted in a one-on-one Q&A format for about 15 minutes and briefly assesses overall cognitive function. Results can be checked immediately, and if cognitive decline is suspected, the Songpa-gu Dementia Safety Center will support diagnostic tests and differential tests (blood tests, brain imaging, etc.).
In particular, drivers aged 75 and over are required to undergo mandatory cognitive screening tests before the expiration of their regular aptitude test to assess memory and judgment abilities, so the district expects this resumed screening to greatly contribute to the convenience of residents’ examinations.
Additionally, the Songpa-gu Health Center Dementia Safety Center operates various projects including ▲dementia counseling and registration management ▲customized case management for dementia patients ▲provision of hygiene products necessary for dementia patient care ▲support for dementia treatment management costs ▲provision of identification tags for wandering elderly ▲dementia awareness education and promotion, striving to manage residents’ health.
Mayor Park Seong-su said, “Normalizing the health center’s work, which was temporarily suspended to focus on COVID-19 quarantine tasks, will improve convenience for residents,” and added, “I hope that resuming the dementia early screening project will help improve residents’ health.”
Dongjak-gu (Mayor Lee Chang-woo) announced on the 21st that the undergrounding project of overhead distribution lines in the sections from ‘Sangdo 2-dong Community Center to Dongjak Kyunghee Hospital’ and ‘Sinnamseong Elementary School to Solbat-ro Entrance’ will commence.
Undergrounding of overhead distribution lines is a project that removes utility poles and buries tangled electric wires and various communication lines underground. Since last year, the district has been progressively promoting the underground installation of 130 Korea Electric Power Corporation poles and communication poles along major arterial roads: ▲Sangdo-ro Phase 1 (Sangdo Station to Sangdo 2-dong Community Center), ▲Sangdo-ro Phase 2 (Sangdo 2-dong Community Center to Dongjak Kyunghee Hospital), and ▲Sadang-ro ‘Sinnamseong Elementary School to Solbat-ro Entrance’ totaling 3,450 meters.
First, aiming for completion by the end of this year, the 1,040-meter Sangdo-ro Phase 1 section started construction in May last year, and on the 28th of this month, the underground installation work of 79 poles (KEPCO and communication poles) over 2,410 meters in two sections?Sangdo-ro Phase 2 and Sadang-ro ‘Sinnamseong Elementary School to Solbat-ro Entrance’?will begin.
Before construction, in March last year, the district signed a performance agreement with Korea Electric Power Corporation, KT, and five other communication companies. The construction includes removal of 48 KEPCO poles and 31 communication poles within the project section, removal of overhead distribution lines, installation of underground conduits, and installation of ground equipment such as transformers and switches.
Also, as the district was selected for the Green New Deal undergrounding project, it plans to start construction of the overhead distribution line project for the 920-meter section around the school route from ‘Chung-Ang University Affiliated Elementary School to Heukseok Daycare Center’ in 2023.
Lee Deung-ho, head of the Street Administration Division, said, “Once the three undergrounding projects currently underway are completed, urban aesthetics will improve and a safe walking environment will be created,” and added, “We will continue to promote undergrounding projects around school routes and major arterial roads to create a pleasant urban environment.”
Last year, the district improved communication poles located mainly in narrow alleys causing traffic and pedestrian inconvenience, such as Sadang-ro 20ga-gil 33 and in front of Bondong 49-14, alleviating residents’ daily inconveniences.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
