[Seoul District News] Yeongdeungpo-gu Builds User-Centered 'Customized Welfare Service' Easy and Convenient for Everyone on Homepage & Creates Direct Homepage Link; 5 Life Cycle, 17 Interest Areas Reorganized ... Yongsan-gu Supports SME Development Fund Loans in Second Half ... Gwangjin-gu Meets Sejong University Festival '2022 Together Sejong' Held ... Jongno-gu Okindong Residents' Long-Standing Request 'Village Circulation Road' Opens October 4
[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Yeongdeungpo-gu (District Mayor Choi Ho-kwon) announced that it has established a user-centered ‘Customized Welfare Service’ on the district office website, allowing easy access to various welfare information, and started the service on the 22nd.
The newly established ‘Customized Welfare Service’ reorganizes the welfare content introduced on the website into menus from the user's perspective. The district focused on managing welfare information more systematically and providing personalized information to enhance the convenience of website users.
The district increased accessibility by creating a shortcut to the ‘Customized Welfare Service’ on the right side of the main page and integrated the existing welfare services by menu into two areas: ‘Life Cycle’ and ‘Topics of Interest.’ Website users can easily find the desired information at a glance by clicking on either ‘Life Cycle’ or ‘Topics of Interest’ through the shortcut without having to navigate multiple menu steps as before.
The Life Cycle section consists of five areas: ▲Infants and Toddlers ▲Children and Adolescents ▲Youth ▲Middle-aged ▲Seniors, allowing anyone to easily check welfare services applicable to their age group.
The Topics of Interest section organizes various welfare services into 17 themes, including ▲Pregnancy and Childbirth ▲Childcare ▲Education ▲Housing Support ▲Low-income Support ▲Disabled Persons ▲Health and Medical Care.
Additionally, the district plans to continuously improve the ‘Customized Welfare Service’ by closely cooperating with related organizations and departments to regularly update information and discover additional welfare services.
Choi Ho-kwon, Mayor of Yeongdeungpo-gu, said, “The district office website is an online channel for communication with residents as well as a channel providing various information. We will strive to develop and maintain information systems from the residents’ perspective so that more people can enjoy convenient services.”
Yongsan-gu (District Mayor Park Hee-young) announced that it will support loans for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with a budget of 8.5 billion KRW in the second half of this year and is accepting applications until November 18.
The target applicants are SMEs and small business owners registered within the district. However, they must have collateral capacity according to bank credit regulations. Entertainment bars, financial, insurance, pension, real estate businesses, gambling, luxury, pleasure, and speculative businesses are excluded.
SMEs are defined as businesses with five or more regular employees, and small businesses have fewer than five employees (fewer than 10 in mining, manufacturing, construction, and transportation sectors).
The interest rate is 1.5% per annum (temporarily 0.8% in 2022), with a loan period of 5 years, including a 2-year grace period and 3 years of equal repayments.
The loan limit has been expanded to ▲1.5 billion to 3 billion KRW for SMEs and ▲500 million to 1 billion KRW for small businesses. The funds can be used for business operations, technology development, and facility expenses.
The application locations have also increased from one to two. Applicants can submit their documents at Shinhan Bank Yongsan Branch or the Yongsan branch of the Credit Guarantee Foundation.
Required documents include ▲SME Development Fund Loan Application, Business Plan ▲Financial Statements or VAT Tax Base Confirmation for the last three years ▲Copy of Business Registration Certificate and documents related to additional points ▲Documents requested by banks and the Credit Guarantee Foundation.
Application forms and related documents can be downloaded from the announcement and notice section of the Yongsan-gu website.
A district official explained, “After consultations with financial institutions, we relaxed loan eligibility requirements within the available scope of banks and diversified application channels to lower the support threshold. We also maximized the loan ceiling to increase the impact.”
Afterward, the district will select support recipients through procedures such as on-site inspections of applicants and loan review committee deliberations.
Priority is given first to new applicants, second to those who have borrowed once more than three years ago and have completed repayment, and third to those currently repaying loans. Female entrepreneurs will receive priority support within 10% of the total loan amount. Companies with high community contribution and disabled business owners will also be given preferential treatment.
Park Hee-young, Mayor of Yongsan-gu, said, “Although the economy is gradually recovering with the With-Corona policy, we cannot let our guard down. We will continue to provide the maximum support possible for small business owners and SMEs who have endured hardships.”
As of September 2022, the total SME Development Fund in Yongsan-gu is 39.6 billion KRW, supporting 423 companies with 15.5 billion KRW.
◆Yongsan-gu Personnel
Gwangjin-gu (District Mayor Kim Kyung-ho) and Sejong University held the ‘2022 Together Sejong’ festival for two days on the 28th and 29th in the square in front of the Daeyang AI Center at Sejong University, where university students and local residents gathered.
Under the theme ‘Together, Once Again,’ the festival showcased the achievements of the Campus Town project and presented various cultural and artistic performances to local residents.
Now in its third year, ‘Together Sejong’ is part of the Sejong University Campus Town project. Since 2019, Gwangjin-gu has partnered with Sejong University to create youth jobs and revitalize the university area in various fields such as employment, housing, culture, and community.
This year, they have achieved results such as establishing one startup support space near Sejong University and selecting 16 startup teams.
On the first day of the festival, Sejong University students performed busking shows. The stage was opened by the ▲Chorus Club ▲Guitar Club ▲Black Music Club ▲Band Club, kicking off the festival.
The second day was divided into two parts. In the first part, students and professors from the Sejong University Music Department presented an ‘Afternoon Classics’ stage, showcasing excellent skills in practical music, choir, and orchestra.
Following this, the president of the Gunja-dong Merchants Association and the chairman of the Defense Council were invited to hold a ‘Mini Talk Concert’ on revitalizing the local economy. The first part ended with performances by the Sejong University Practical Music Department and the Pungmulpae Club.
The second part opened with a Korean dance performance by Sejong University students. Then, welcoming remarks by Sejong University President Bae Deok-hyo and congratulatory speeches by key guests including Gwangjin-gu Mayor Kim Kyung-ho followed.
At the main event of the second part, the ‘Campus Town Excellent Startup Team Awards Ceremony,’ one grand prize team, two top excellence teams, and two excellence teams received awards from the Campus Town Center director. A plaque of appreciation was presented to Ilgugu Urban Architecture Office (CEO Yoon Geun-joo) for contributing to the creation of streets around Sejong University.
Especially this year, emphasizing local residents’ participation, the festival added meaning by presenting a joint musical and fashion show with neighborhood elders.
A participating student said, “Through the Sejong University Campus Town project, I am nurturing my dream of starting a business. I am happy to communicate with students who share the same goal and enjoy music performances with neighbors.”
The festival concluded successfully with a congratulatory performance by singer Sunwoo Jung-a, cheered on by many residents.
Kim Kyung-ho, Mayor of Gwangjin-gu, said, “This festival brings together students, elders, and local residents to communicate and harmonize. We will resolve youth employment concerns and build a Gwangjin-gu where universities and communities cooperate and develop together.”
Jongno-gu (District Mayor Jeong Moon-heon) will hold an opening ceremony for the village circulation road at the entrance of 47 Okindong on October 4.
The site was designated as a managed residential environment improvement project area in 2019. Jongno-gu has been promoting living environment improvement projects in this area, including securing roads to improve residents’ quality of life, alleyway maintenance, installation of city gas, and water and sewage facilities. Additionally, projects to secure parking lots and support home repairs reflecting residents’ demands are underway.
The village circulation road opening also focuses on improving residents’ living environment. For the construction, four buildings adjacent to the road were purchased and demolished, creating an approximately 1 km asphalt-paved road with a width of 4 to 8 meters and a length of 112 meters, circulating widely around Okindong.
With a safe and convenient traffic environment established, it is expected to enhance convenience for local residents and tourists and invigorate the entire village.
The opening ceremony will start at 4:30 PM on the 4th. Attendees include National Assembly member Choi Jae-hyung, city council members, and district council members. The program will proceed with ▲Opening Declaration ▲Progress Report ▲Greetings ▲Guest Speeches ▲Okindong Village Tour.
Jeong Moon-heon, Mayor of Jongno-gu, said, “Once the revision of the maintenance plan to relax building floor and height restrictions is completed in October, construction activities in this area are expected to become easier. We will continue to carry out various maintenance projects focused on improving residents’ quality of life.”
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