Yongsan-gu Introduces Resident Application System for National Safety Diagnosis Inspection Targets

[Seoul District News] Yongsan-gu Accepts Safety Disaster Department and Dong Resident Center Applications Until the 29th; Targets Senior Centers, Welfare Centers, Stone Walls, Small Aged Buildings... Mapo-gu Selected as Excellent District for 7 Consecutive Years Nationwide in Disaster Management Evaluation by Ministry of the Interior and Safety... Yeongdeungpo-gu Opens Idle Parking Lots to Ease Parking Shortage... Seongdong-gu Transforms Urban Spare Spaces into ‘Healing Rest Areas’... Eunpyeong-gu Installs Park Chairs Donated by Residents Through Hope Wood Workshop Production

Yongsan District Mayor Park Hee-young is receiving a report on the introduction of the resident application system for the National Safety Diagnosis inspection targets in the district's smart meeting room on the 11th.

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Yongsan-gu (District Mayor Park Hee-young) has introduced a resident application system where residents can directly apply for facilities to be inspected under the National Safety Diagnosis, and will accept applications until the 29th of this month.

The resident application system is a program that receives advance applications from residents for facilities they believe need inspection, conducts joint inspections with experts, and shares the results.

The target facilities include senior citizen centers, welfare centers, stone retaining walls, and small-scale aging buildings (approved for use over 10 years ago). Facilities under construction, those involved in ongoing lawsuits, legally mandated inspection facilities, and unauthorized facilities are excluded.

Residents wishing to apply can visit the district’s Safety and Disaster Department or the local community service center, or submit the application form via the responsible official’s email. The application form can be found on the Yongsan-gu website under District News - Announcements.

The district will comprehensively review the risk level and installation year of the submitted safety diagnosis application facilities to select inspection targets and carry out inspections during the National Safety Diagnosis period.

This year’s National Safety Diagnosis runs from August 17 to October 14. It is a public-private joint effort to inspect major facilities closely related to residents’ daily lives annually, aiming to preemptively eliminate risk factors by checking the overall safety management status of society.

Responsible public officials and structural engineers will jointly visit the sites to conduct visual inspections. Within one week after inspection, the risk level, repair and reinforcement needs, and management methods will be individually notified to the facility managers to help ensure safe facility management.

Park Hee-young, Mayor of Yongsan-gu, said, “Safety prevention activities may not be visible, but if not properly carried out, they can lead to major accidents. I hope the introduction of the resident application system will serve as an opportunity for residents themselves to pay more attention to safety in their daily lives.”

Mapo-gu (District Mayor Park Kang-soo) was selected as an excellent district in the ‘2022 Disaster Management Evaluation’ conducted by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety.

By being selected as an excellent district for seven consecutive years for the first time nationwide, Mapo once again proved itself as a safe city.

The ‘Disaster Management Evaluation’ is a comprehensive assessment conducted annually by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety since 2005 under the Disaster and Safety Management Basic Act. It diagnoses the key capabilities of disaster management agencies at each stage of disaster management to raise the national level of disaster management.

This year’s evaluation was conducted on 335 disaster management agencies including central government departments, public institutions, and local governments. The Central Disaster Management Evaluation Team, composed of private experts, comprehensively judged last year’s disaster management performance based on 45 indicators including essential tasks at each disaster management stage and management activities by disaster type.

Mapo-gu secured excellent grades in areas such as ▲active financial investment plans in disaster safety ▲efforts to maintain business continuity ▲management status and new or reinforced performance of warning facilities by type ▲securing and managing disaster relief infrastructure, and was selected as an ‘Excellent District.’

Additionally, the district was awarded the Presidential Award as the best institution in the ‘On-site Action Manual’ best practice contest hosted by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety in 2021, and was recognized as an excellent institution in Seoul for disaster response safety training, demonstrating advanced disaster management response efforts toward becoming a safe city.

Park Kang-soo, Mayor of Mapo-gu, stated, “We will do our best to ensure there are no gaps in disaster safety management by thoroughly preparing and responding in advance to create a safe Mapo for residents.”

Yeongdeungpo-gu (District Mayor Choi Ho-kwon) is leading efforts to alleviate parking difficulties in residential areas through a project that opens private parking lots to nearby residents.

Although the overall parking lot availability rate in Yeongdeungpo-gu currently reaches 127%, parking complaints in residential areas continue to arise. Creating new parking spaces requires enormous costs and finding suitable locations is not easy.

Accordingly, the district has actively promoted the private parking lot opening project as a solution to the chronic parking problem under financial and spatial constraints.

The district has signed agreements to open private parking lots (including extended openings) at 38 buildings, including Lotte Mart Seoul Yangpyeong Branch and Samsung Raemian Apartments in Yangpyeong-dong, securing a total of 1,522 parking spaces to provide to local residents and nearby office workers.

This year, the district plans to further accelerate the activation of parking lot sharing to contribute to improving residents’ parking convenience.

The project targets facilities such as companies, apartments, religious facilities, and schools with at least five parking spaces that can be opened for at least two years during day and night or all day.

Participants will receive up to 25 million KRW for parking facility improvements such as barriers, floor repairs, and CCTV installation, and various incentives including a ‘Thankful Sharing Parking Lot’ sign.

In particular, the district plans to prioritize and support areas with low parking lot availability rates among densely populated residential areas and actively encourage openings.

Parking lots will operate primarily as resident-priority parking, but direct operation by building owners is also possible, with parking fees set and operated separately according to agreements.

Building owners wishing to participate can inquire and apply through the Yeongdeungpo-gu Parking Culture Division.

Kim Kyung-jae, head of the Parking Culture Division, said, “Companies and schools likely have many unused parking spaces at night or on weekends, and apartments during the day. We hope many will join the private parking lot opening project so that the parking problem can be overcome through public-private cooperation.”

View of Seongdong-gu from Maebongsan Mountain

Seongdong-gu (District Mayor Jung Won-oh) has created three resident healing rest areas using small leftover spaces in the city, where residents can momentarily relieve their worries and rest comfortably during the hot summer.

Three aging leftover spaces near residents’ living areas (▲near residential area in Majang-dong ▲near Muhak Elementary School in Hwangsimni-dong (photo below) ▲near Exit 10 of Wangsimni Station) were replanted with various flowering trees and shrubs, and facilities such as benches were refurbished to create safe and pleasant rest areas.

Especially, the rest area near the residential area in Majang-dong was improved from a risky stone staircase to a deck staircase, allowing elderly residents to access safely. Additional flowering plants were planted, transforming it into a green forest space where residents can chat.

The rest area near Muhak Elementary School in Hwangsimni-dong, located midway up a hill and heavily used but previously lacking shade making it difficult to use in the hot summer, was transformed into a shaded rest area by newly installing a pergola and planting various trees including emerald green.

Near Exit 10 of Wangsimni Station, a roughly 30㎡ flower bed was newly created under a zelkova tree, planting hydrangeas and other flowering trees to provide a mini garden space in the city where people can relax and enjoy the scenery.

Rest Area Around Muhakcho

A resident of Haengdang-dong, Mr. A, passing by near Wangsimni Station said, “I was surprised to see the rest area in front of Wangsimni Station refreshed when I came to take the subway. The old benches decorated with flowers and trees have transformed it into a wonderful resting place, and I will make it a meeting spot with my friends from now on.”

District Mayor Jung Won-oh said, “Urban green spaces help prevent heat island effects and reduce fine dust, protecting citizens’ health from air pollutants, making them an important element of the city. We will continue to discover and refurbish neglected leftover spaces to provide rest areas where local residents can stop by, chat, and rest briefly.”

Eunpyeong District Office

Eunpyeong-gu (District Mayor Kim Mi-kyung) is promoting the ‘Donation Bench Installation Project’ from this month until the end of the year to spread a culture of sharing by installing benches in parks funded by donations from residents.

The ‘Donation Bench Installation Project’ involves the Eunpyeong Hope Woodworking Workshop producing donation benches and installing them in parks. The production costs are covered by donations and used for supporting low-income residents in Eunpyeong-gu. This project contributes to spreading a culture of donation while installing benches in parks, which are leisure facilities for residents, achieving two goals at once.

Anyone wishing to participate, including individuals and groups, can apply starting this month. After filling out the donation application form and transferring the donation to the Community Chest of Korea account, the bench will be installed. Once installation is complete, a notification message will be sent to the donor.

Donation benches will be installed in parks in Eunpyeong such as Bongsan and Baekryeonsan, with various types including benches with backrests, single-seat chairs, and animal-shaped chairs depending on the installation location. The donation amounts are 200,000 KRW for benches with backrests, 100,000 KRW for single chairs, and 300,000 KRW for animal chairs.

Donation Chair

To foster a natural donation culture, donors will receive a certification plaque and a donation receipt for tax deduction purposes. The certification plaque can include any message the donor wishes and will be attached to the bench.

For more details about participating in the donation bench project, contact the Eunpyeong-gu Parks and Greenery Division.

A district official said, “We hope many residents and groups will participate in this meaningful act of sharing and passing on generosity, creating an opportunity to enjoy a culture of sharing in parks together.”