Park Hee-young, Yongsan District Mayor, Launches On-site Communication for Resident Engagement

District Mayor Park Hee-young's First 100 Days: Candid Communication with Residents... From October 24 to November 7, Touring Two Neighborhoods Daily (Morning & Afternoon)... Direct Visits to Livelihood Sites After Resident Representative Meetings, Listening to Residents' Opinions

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] “It’s been 100 days since we met. Would you like to have a cup of tea with Park Hee-young?”

Park Hee-young, Mayor of Yongsan-gu, Seoul, started the first schedule of the 8th civil election term on site. Marking 100 days since taking office, she continues her informal communication with the residents.

Through the ‘2022 Resident Empathy On-site Communication,’ she personally visited 16 neighborhoods from October 24 to November 7. The purpose is to collect vivid opinions from residents on local issues and reflect them in district administration.

The resident empathy on-site communication is conducted by visiting two neighborhoods per day, divided into morning and afternoon sessions. The schedule is as follows: ▲ Huam-dong, Itaewon 1(il)-dong (24th) ▲ Namyeong-dong (25th) ▲ Cheongpa-dong (26th) ▲ Wonhyoro 2(i)-dong (28th) ▲ Hyochang-dong, Yongmun-dong, Wonhyoro 1(il)-dong (31st) ▲ Hangangno-dong (November 1) ▲ Ichon 1(il)-dong, Ichon 2(i)-dong (2nd) ▲ Yongsan 2(i)-ga-dong, Itaewon 2(i)-dong (3rd) ▲ Bogwang-dong (4th) ▲ Seobinggo-dong, Hannam-dong (7th).

The duration for each neighborhood is within one and a half hours. At each neighborhood community center, a tea meeting with resident representatives is held for about 30 minutes, followed by an immediate move to the site. Resident representatives include about 20 people from various fields such as heads of neighborhood organizations, facility managers, local issue and construction site stakeholders, and facility users.

Instead of producing banners for each neighborhood, two banners were produced in total and are reused in rotation across the 16 neighborhoods. This reflects Mayor Park Hee-young’s commitment to environmental consideration.

A district official explained, “To hear diverse voices about district administration, protocol was omitted during the tea meetings, and the number of personnel was minimized to avoid any work gaps.”

The district plans to visit various construction sites and facilities to inspect safety measures and patrol crime-prone areas such as alleys. Areas with complaints such as illegal dumping will also be checked on site. Major sites include the habitual illegal dumping area in Huam-dong, the remodeling construction site of the former Cheongpa 2(i)-dong office building, Haebangchon public parking lot, the Green Art Road under Banpo Bridge, and Eungbong Neighborhood Park.

Mayor Park Hee-young, who said, “I want to do a lot for the residents,” added, “I used to be ahead of my feelings, but after passing 100 days since taking office, I realized once again that ‘listening a lot to what residents want and putting it into practice’ is true communication.”

Emphasizing ‘Wumunhyundap (Our problems have answers on site),’ Mayor Park Hee-young also held the ‘First Neighborhood Work Report Meeting and Dialogue with Residents of the 8th Civil Election Term’ in July. She received 143 suggestions, of which 128 were answered directly by the mayor on site. Fifteen were reviewed by related departments and the results were communicated to the residents.