Seongdong-gu Holds Residents' General Meeting to Decide Village Projects

[Seoul District News] Seongdong-gu to Hold Resident General Meetings in All 17 Neighborhoods from August 10 to September 1... Rich Pre-Event Programs Including Magic Shows & Resident Participation in 2023 Autonomy Projects and Neighborhood-Level Participatory Budgeting via Online and Offline Voting... [Photo] Seogangseok, Songpa-gu Mayor, Delivers Congratulatory Speech at the Inauguration Ceremony of the Korea Small Business and Self-Employed Federation Songpa Branch... Seocho-gu Supports 500 Energy-Vulnerable Elderly Households with 30,000 KRW Electricity Fee Each to Ease Cooling Costs... Gangseo-gu, Seoul, Issues ‘Mobile Excellent Volunteer Certificates’ Starting This Month

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Seongdong-gu (Mayor Jung Won-oh) announced that the 2022 Residents' General Assembly to decide the 2023 autonomous plan projects will be held from August 10 according to the schedule of each of the 17 neighborhoods, hosted by each neighborhood residents' autonomy committee.

The Residents' General Assembly is a forum for public discussion where local residents discuss village projects they have discovered and proposed, and decide the autonomous plan including the priority of next year's implementation projects through voting, realizing grassroots democracy.

To reflect the opinions of various living residents and local residents, both online and offline preliminary voting are conducted, and the Residents' General Assembly schedule will be held in 17 neighborhoods from August 10 starting with Kumho 2 and 3-ga neighborhoods until September 1.

Also, from this year, neighborhood-level citizen participation projects directly planned and operated by Seongdong-gu, not Seoul City, will be selected at the Residents' General Assembly. Originally, these projects were conducted with Seoul City budget and were subject to integration with other projects according to city policy, but thanks to continuous suggestions from local residents, the district office proactively invested its own budget to realize the value of residents' autonomy and converted and promoted them as independent projects.

Major projects by neighborhood for 2023 include ▲ ‘10nyeonsaengi Onda’ (The 10-year-olds are coming) in Sageun-dong, which surveys educational demand for upper-grade students at Sageun Elementary School, career exploration, and planning lectures ▲ ‘Our Neighborhood YouTube Studio’ in Haengdang 2-dong, which records residents' stories through photography and video shooting and edits them for YouTube broadcasting ▲ ‘Found in the Village: Pet Lovers’ (愛犬, 愛見, 愛堅) in Kumho 1-ga-dong, where people with hobbies such as affection for the village gather to share activities and build memories ▲ ‘Menopause Breakthrough’ in Seongsu 2-ga 1-dong, offering various psychological stabilization programs for residents exhausted by COVID-19, which will be finally selected through this residents' vote.

In 2022, projects such as healing classes to relieve parenting stress and allow participation with children due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, a photo studio project that took youth and longevity photos of seniors and made framed memories and warmth, and projects producing and sharing items recycled from local resources were selected and are being promoted in each neighborhood.

On the day of the assembly, under compliance with COVID-19 prevention guidelines, pre-event programs with unique characteristics of each community center such as choir performances, children's magic shows, small concerts, and neighborhood autonomy committee club performances will be held to soothe the regret of the 2021 non-face-to-face Residents' General Assembly and comfort local residents tired from summer heatwaves and monsoon rains.

Additionally, on-site videos will be uploaded to the official YouTube channel of the Seongdong-gu Residents' Autonomy Committee so that residents who cannot attend can also enjoy them together. The Seongdong-gu Residents' Autonomy Committee YouTube channel features videos of activities from the 17 neighborhood residents' autonomy committees, allowing viewers to see various residents' autonomy projects.

Jung Won-oh, Mayor of Seongdong-gu, said, “I hope this will be a small comfort to local residents who regretted last year's non-face-to-face event,” and added, “I thank the residents' autonomy committee members and local residents who work hard for regional development, and we will continue to spare no effort to provide multifaceted support for the practical realization of Seongdong-type residents' autonomy.”

Songpa-gu (Mayor Seo Gang-seok) announced that on the 8th, it held the founding inauguration ceremony of the Songpa branch of the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Enterprises and Small Business Owners at the Songpa-gu Office auditorium.

About 100 people including the central president of the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Enterprises and Small Business Owners, local figures, and others attended, sharing a new start for improving the rights and interests of small and medium enterprises and small business owners and regional community development.

The event proceeded in order with opening declaration, presentation of approval plaques and appointment letters, and delivery of the branch flag. Several guests including Songpa-gu members of the National Assembly and the chairman of the Songpa-gu Council congratulated the founding of the Songpa branch through congratulatory speeches.

Through the founding inauguration ceremony, newly appointed Songpa branch president Ko Hyun-seok said, “We will not only continuously communicate with the central association and various related organizations to accept and actively resolve the hardships and demands of small and medium enterprises and small business owners, but also make the Songpa branch a model branch that sets the standard for the development of the federation.”

Seo Gang-seok, Mayor of Songpa-gu, said in his congratulatory speech, “I pay tribute to the dedication and hard work of small and medium enterprises and small business owners who quietly protected the field despite the difficult adversity caused by COVID-19,” and added, “Songpa-gu will also do its best to ensure that policies and support for small and medium enterprises and small business owners are not neglected.”

Seocho-gu (Mayor Jeon Seong-su) announced that it will support cooling costs such as electricity bills and overdue utility charges for low-income vulnerable groups who do not operate air conditioners due to economic difficulties despite the ongoing heatwave.

First, to reduce the cooling cost burden for vulnerable households, the district will support 30,000 KRW per household in electricity bills for 500 low-income elderly living alone aged 65 or older. To this end, the district secured the budget through a supplementary budget last month to support electricity bills.

The support targets are recipients of the National Basic Livelihood Security and near-poverty groups, who are recommended by the neighborhood community center and finally selected by the district office considering duplicate support, with the support funds paid into individual accounts by the end of this month.

In addition, the district is also conducting the ‘Seocho SOS Project’ to support overdue electricity bills and other charges for low-income vulnerable groups who hesitate to use air conditioners due to high electricity costs. The support targets are low-income households (within 85% of median income) with utility bills overdue for two months or more and at risk of power disconnection, with support up to 200,000 KRW.

The support method is to submit overdue utility bill notices to the local neighborhood community center, consult with the person in charge, and decide the target at the district office case meeting.

In June, the district supported window-type air conditioners for 100 elderly households vulnerable to heatwaves living in rooftop rooms and semi-basements. Also, for heatwave-vulnerable groups, the district supports 300 circulator-type fans, cooling mats, dehumidifiers, and provides insect screen repair services, conducting various summer projects to prepare for heatwaves and ensure residents' comfortable living environments.

Jeon Seong-su, Mayor of Seocho-gu, said, “We will prepare various heatwave prevention support measures so that vulnerable residents suffering from the double hardship of heatwaves and rising energy prices can have a healthy summer.”

Gangseo-gu, Seoul (Mayor Kim Tae-woo) announced that it will issue ‘Mobile Excellent Volunteer Certificates’ starting this month.

This aims to improve the inconvenience caused by using physical excellent volunteer certificates and to enhance the convenience and morale of volunteers.

The Excellent Volunteer Certificate is a system established to expand rewards for volunteer activities and increase pride, thereby spreading the atmosphere of volunteer participation.

However, the existing excellent volunteer certificates were in the form of physical cards, requiring volunteers to visit the volunteer center to apply and receive them, and to carry them whenever used, causing inconvenience.

Therefore, the district developed a ‘Mobile Excellent Volunteer Certificate’ that can be easily used anytime and anywhere with just a smartphone, and is issuing it alongside the existing physical volunteer certificates.

The Excellent Volunteer Certificate can be issued to any volunteer belonging to Gangseo-gu who has more than 50 hours of volunteer service in the previous year based on the 1365 Volunteer Portal.

For the mobile excellent volunteer certificate, one can access the Gangseo-gu Office website via smartphone or computer, and after simple identity verification in the ‘Comprehensive Civil Service - Civil Consultation/Application - Mobile Excellent Volunteer Certificate’ menu, it can be issued immediately.

The issued mobile excellent volunteer certificate can be stored on a smartphone or computer and used conveniently anytime and anywhere.

The Excellent Volunteer Certificate can be used at public sports facilities and public parking lots within Gangseo-gu, as well as at autonomy center programs in community centers and about 68 affiliated discount stores, where discounts ranging from 5% to 30% are available depending on the store.

More detailed information about affiliated discount stores for volunteers can be found on the ‘Gangseo-gu Volunteer Center website - Information Center’.

A district official said, “We hope this mobile service introduction will be an opportunity to further activate volunteer activities,” and added, “We will continue to strive to provide various benefits to those who volunteer for our community.”

The district provides various benefits and programs for volunteers, an important human resource in the region, including providing volunteer notebooks, subscribing to accident insurance, and conducting volunteer education.