Opposition Voices for Safety Reasons... Commissioner Kim Prepares for '1st Floor Office Era' After Persuasion
Relocation Scheduled for Next Month... Resident Happiness Officer Department Also Placed Near District Mayor's Office
[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Jin-hyung] "Lower and closer."
Kim Byeong-nae, mayor of Nam-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City, who vowed to strengthen communication with residents, is attracting attention. It is a bold move to relocate the mayor's office from the 7th floor of the government building to the 1st floor.
According to Nam-gu on the 16th, the mayor's office, located on the 7th floor of the government building, is being relocated to a 99㎡ space right next to the main entrance on the 1st floor, where a model house used to be.
It is said that Nam-gu, Gwangju and Damyang-gun, Jeollanam-do are the only places nationwide where the head of the local government’s office is located on the 1st floor.
The detailed design service phase for relocating the mayor's office is underway until the 16th of next month, and the '1st floor office era' may open as early as the same month.
Kim’s plan to move the mayor's office to the 1st floor was not smooth.
There were concerns that having the mayor's office in a prominent location could provoke malicious complaints, and above all, safety issues had to be considered in light of the past stabbing incident involving a Gwangju City Hall official.
For these reasons, there were considerable opposing voices internally.
However, Kim showed strong determination, saying that strengthening communication with residents was more important, and persuaded one by one.
Kim emphasized, "The district office is the place that provides the closest administration to residents, but I wonder if the mayor's office felt too distant," and added, "With the relocation of the mayor's office, I will make it easier and more comfortable for residents to approach."
It is also interpreted as a will to strengthen communication with employees from the lowest place, not to dominate over them from a high place.
On the 19th, the newly established Resident Happiness Officer (10 people) and aides (policy aides and public relations planning aides), totaling 12 people, will start working in the new office next to the mayor's office on the 1st floor.
In particular, it is meaningful that the Resident Happiness Officer, an agency directly under the deputy mayor, is placed near the mayor's office rather than on the 7th or 8th floors where other departments are located.
The Resident Happiness Officer consists of the Resident Communication Team, Happiness Policy Team, and Happiness Promotion Team. Among them, the Resident Communication Team handles daily civil complaints and links residents' demands to policies.
The Happiness Promotion Team is responsible for the media facade and media wall projects that broadcast various videos and information using the exterior walls of the government building.
For example, residents can send messages to their sons going to the military or confess to their lovers through videos. The goal is to provide various sights and entertainment and make the district a city of resident happiness.
Through Kim’s organizational restructuring and office relocation, it is clear that Nam-gu will strongly drive 'resident communication' and 'happiness policies' in the future.
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