Seongdong-gu, What Is the Secret Behind Winning the Job Award for 8 Consecutive Years?

[Seoul District News] Seongdong-gu Wins Special Award in Local Government Job Awards for Creating Innovative Jobs like Social Ventures... Gwanak-gu Wins 2022 National Local Government Job Awards... Seongbuk-gu Wins National Local Government Job Awards Two Years in a Row

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Seongdong-gu (Mayor Jung Won-oh) was honored as the only autonomous district in Seoul to receive the award for eight consecutive years at the ‘2022 National Local Government Job Awards’ held on the 21st, establishing its reputation as a leading local government in job creation.

The ‘National Local Government Job Awards’ is hosted by the Ministry of Employment and Labor and comprehensively evaluates job policies of 243 local governments nationwide (17 metropolitan, 226 basic) to select and award outstanding local governments.

Seongdong-gu received the ‘Special Award’ in this evaluation and simultaneously secured an incentive project fund of 55 million KRW.

Since the Ministry of Employment and Labor’s evaluation began in 2012, Seongdong-gu is the only autonomous district in Seoul to have won for eight consecutive years and holds the record for the most grand prizes. Mayor Jung Won-oh has solidified his position as a ‘Job Mayor’ by winning the Job Awards for eight consecutive years through initiatives such as the nation’s first ordinance to activate the social economy fund, creating the public platform Understand Avenue, and establishing Seongdong Future Job Corporation.

In this evaluation, Seongdong-gu was recognized for excellence by establishing detailed plans linked to comprehensive plans responding to local job conditions, building an organic cooperation system between job departments and project departments, creating connectivity and outcomes in local employment governance, and focusing all policy capabilities on four major job sectors (experts, small business owners, employment and entrepreneurship education, vulnerable groups).

Additionally, in terms of job performance, it received high praise for differentiated excellent policies such as innovation in local small-scale industries and operation of fashion smart processes, support for tenant companies in Seongsu-dong Knowledge Industry Center as a future-oriented complex industrial city, operation of visiting social venture teams, job creation through social economy activation, and rights enhancement support projects for essential workers and women with career experience.

Seongdong-gu was the first nationwide to create the ‘Seongdong Impact Fund’ with 2 billion KRW to support social venture company growth, completing investments worth 1.5 billion KRW in nine companies, and strengthened private investment attraction capabilities through the Startup Development Center. It also made all-out efforts to create innovative jobs by supporting social ventures through business development funding via innovation contests, providing workspaces through safe shopping districts, and supporting sales channels through expos.

Remarkable achievements were also made in improving job quality. In November last year, Seongdong-gu became the first in the nation to enact the ‘Ordinance on Respect and Rights Enhancement for Women with Career Experience, etc.,’ which changed the term ‘career-interrupted women’ to ‘women with career experience’ and recognized care work, mainly done during career interruptions, as career experience.

To improve awareness and promote women with career experience, the district signed agreements with five companies including Clio Co., Ltd., and operates the ‘Career Restart Challenge,’ a program that educates and connects women with career experience who wish to join social ventures and startups to employment. The program issues career recognition certificates to graduates, leading efforts to eliminate unreasonable discrimination against women with career experience and create an environment for equal treatment in employment.

Through comprehensive job measures implemented last year, Seongdong-gu created 11,247 jobs, and the number of insured employees under employment insurance increased to 186,010, up from 178,296 the previous year.

Jung Won-oh, Mayor of Seongdong-gu, said, “I am very pleased to announce the news of winning the National Job Awards for eight consecutive years as the 8th elected term begins. Jobs are a core keyword in Seongdong-gu, which aims to be a sustainable city. We will strive to create momentum to generate jobs within the city so that any resident who wants to work can find quality jobs.”

Gwanak-gu (Mayor Park Jun-hee)’s efforts and achievements in revitalizing the local economy and creating customized jobs have been highly evaluated nationwide.

On the 21st, Gwanak-gu received the Minister of Employment and Labor Award at the ‘2022 National Local Government Job Awards’ held at the Government Sejong Convention Center in Sejong City.

Along with the ministerial award, the district secured a financial incentive of 55 million KRW for incentive projects and capacity-building projects.

The ‘National Local Government Job Awards’ is the top event in the job sector held annually since 2012 by the Ministry of Employment and Labor to promote job creation efforts and achievements of 243 local governments nationwide and raise social interest.

This award proves the excellent results of Gwanak-gu, which faced many difficulties in preparing job measures under conditions of a small number of companies and a residential-centered small business dense area, but raised residents’ expectations through substantial job and economic revitalization projects since the launch of the 7th elected term.

Mayor Park Jun-hee said, “Among Seoul’s district mayors, I am the only one who advocates being an economic mayor, focusing on job and economic sectors, and the pledged projects have been well evaluated. I am especially pleased as it recognizes the efforts of the past four years of the 7th elected term.”

In particular, the award has greater significance as it is the first job award won despite difficult times such as COVID-19 and economic recession, following the ‘Local Job Target Disclosure System’ implemented in 2012 to increase local responsibility and autonomy for job creation.

Despite the employment crisis caused by COVID-19, the district created 13,342 jobs in 2021, achieving 138.2% of the target of 9,656 jobs, and showing a remarkable increase of 2,468 jobs (22.7%) compared to 10,874 jobs in 2020.

Through the successful promotion of ‘Gwanak S Valley’ to transform the region, once barren for startups, into a venture startup mecca, 13 startup infrastructure facilities were created, currently housing 112 startup companies and about 710 employees, promoting various startup support projects that have led to increased sales and investment attraction.

In addition, the designation of a ‘Venture Business Promotion Zone’ in January created conditions for the inflow, growth, and settlement of promising venture companies.

For two years, the district deployed 6,042 public jobs, the largest scale nationwide, to local quarantine tasks, contributing to overcoming the COVID-19 employment crisis and preventing infectious diseases.

It also received praise for demonstrating a model of a win-win economy through the ‘Gwanak-style Artterior Project,’ which improves the design of old and worn small business stores and provides jobs to local artists.

Since the start of the 7th elected term, the district established the Job Venture Division and Youth Policy Division, strengthening dedicated organizations for qualitative improvement of the local economy and youth jobs, which also received favorable reviews.

Mayor Park Jun-hee stated, “We will promote new job and economic policies such as attracting more than 1,000 venture companies through Gwanak S Valley 2.0, establishing the Small and Medium Venture Promotion Agency, and founding the Job Happiness Corporation. In the 8th elected term, I will do my best to prioritize being an economic mayor and create an innovative and win-win economic city with quality job creation.”

Seongbuk-gu (Mayor Lee Seung-ro) won the ‘Excellence Award’ in the Public Disclosure System category at the ‘2022 National Local Government Job Awards’ hosted by the Ministry of Employment and Labor, held at the Sejong Convention Center on the 21st.

Following the ‘Special Award’ in 2021, the district achieved the feat of winning awards for two consecutive years. With this award, Seongbuk-gu secured a national budget of 70 million KRW for job creation projects in 2023 along with the Minister of Employment and Labor’s commendation.

The ‘National Local Government Job Awards’ is an annual event hosted by the Ministry of Employment and Labor that evaluates regional job projects based on the previous year’s performance and shares excellent cases, with participation from 243 metropolitan and basic local governments nationwide.

Despite the prolonged COVID-19 crisis last year, Seongbuk-gu was highly evaluated for its multifaceted efforts to create jobs and revitalize the local economy, including newly organizing and operating the Livelihood Economy Promotion Team to promptly respond to local economic issues, efforts to improve job quality, and promotion of youth employment and entrepreneurship support projects utilizing cooperation among public, private, government, and academic sectors and local university infrastructure.

The district is promoting projects such as the opening of the ‘Seongbuk Smart Fashion Industry Center,’ which will serve as a hub for Seongbuk-gu’s future fashion industry; designation and operation of alley-type shopping districts; interest-free loans for small business owners affected by COVID-19; issuance of Seongbuk Love mobile gift certificates; and based on the district’s characteristics of having the highest number of universities nationwide and its innovative potential, projects such as the creation of Gireum Youth Startup Street, construction of Youth Smart Startup Center and Startup Support Center, establishment of a Campus Town coexisting with the community, and the Seongbuk Youth Startup Challenge.

Lee Seung-ro, Mayor of Seongbuk-gu, said, “If responding to COVID-19 was the focus of the 7th elected term, then recovering the livelihood economy, especially job creation, is the focus of the 8th elected term. Based on the efforts made so far to create jobs and revitalize local commercial districts, we will actively work to create mutually respectful jobs and revitalize local commercial districts in response to rapidly changing industries and job conditions after COVID-19.”