Seung-ro Lee, Seongbuk-gu Mayor, Operates 'One-Day On-Site Mayor's Office' in 2022

[Seoul District News] Field-Centered Communication Administration Continues from 7th to 8th Term & Resident Proposal Discussions Held Face-to-Face, Opinions Shared via YouTube Live ... Guro-gu Selects Total 44 Resident Participation Budget Projects for 2023 by Resident Vote ... Jongno-gu Holds New Basic Livelihood Security Recipients Briefing on 26th

Seungro Lee, Mayor of Seongbuk-gu (center), is discussing solutions with employees from relevant departments of the district office while inspecting the Seongbuk-dong site regarding residents' proposals on the 14th, about two weeks before the operation of the 2022 'One-Day On-Site Mayor's Office'.

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Seongbuk-gu (Mayor Lee Seung-ro) has been implementing a field- and people-centered administration during the 7th local government term, and will continue its consistent communication administration by opening the ‘One-day Field Mayor’s Office’ in the 8th term as well.

From the 27th of this month to the 16th of next month, the mayor will meet residents face-to-face in all 20 neighborhoods and respond directly to their proposals.

The ‘Field Mayor’s Office’ is a campaign project of Mayor Lee Seung-ro, planned from the beginning of his inauguration in 2018 with the purpose of listening to local issues in the field of residents’ lives and seeking alternatives together with the residents.

Before operating the Field Mayor’s Office this time, the district collected resident proposal projects by neighborhood last month. This month, the mayor and relevant department officials visited the project sites of the proposed projects to review and discuss them directly.

Looking at the contents of this year’s resident proposal projects, about 70% are related to transportation and living environment improvement. Many proposals concern road environment improvement and renovation of aging facilities, and there is a steady demand for the installation of road heating cables, which residents collectively praise. The recent heightened awareness of safety is also reflected in the proposals. Suggestions for women’s safe return paths, CCTV, and LED floor traffic lights are prominent. Additionally, with the increase in demand for personal leisure after COVID-19, requests for exercise equipment and rest areas have also increased. Requests for electric vehicle charging stations due to the increase in electric vehicles are also somewhat distinctive.

The 2022 ‘One-day Field Mayor’s Office’ will operate a total of 20 times, starting on October 27 in Seongbuk-dong and ending on November 16 in Seokgwan-dong. At designated operation locations in each neighborhood, resident representatives, the mayor, members of the National Assembly, and city and district council members will attend to listen to residents’ opinions. A discussion forum on resident proposal projects will be held, including Q&A sessions and on-the-spot answers. Residents can expect clear answers from policymakers and implementers regarding questions or suggestions they have about their community.

Resident Kim 00 of Seongbuk-gu said, “Last year, during the online Field Mayor’s Office, the mayor answered civil complaints directly and satisfactorily, so I felt relieved. This time, I am even more looking forward to participating face-to-face.”

To facilitate empathetic communication on site, a joint public-private voluntary cleaning will be conducted on the morning of the Field Mayor’s Office day. This is to meet residents of the neighborhood in advance while cleaning and listen more to on-site stories.

Mayor Lee Seung-ro said, “In the 8th local government term, the philosophy of district administration that the field is the source of policy demand and the place where solutions exist remains unchanged. We want to meet the 450,000 residents again in the field and start toward ‘Happy Seongbuk that everyone dreams of’ by enhancing problem-solving capabilities centered on people’s livelihoods through participatory administration based on communication and empathy.”

This Seongbuk-gu ‘One-day Field Mayor’s Office’ will be operated face-to-face. It will be streamed live on YouTube, allowing interested residents to watch without location restrictions and participate in communication through real-time chat. The Seongbuk-gu Office YouTube channel can be found by searching ‘SeongbukTV’ on YouTube.

Munheon-il, Guro-gu Mayor, giving a greeting speech at the 2023 Resident Participatory Budget General Assembly for budget formulation

Guro-gu has finalized the resident-participation budget projects for the 2023 budget allocation.

Guro-gu (Mayor Moon Heon-il) announced on the 20th that it held the ‘2022 Resident Participation Budget General Assembly’ and finally selected a total of 44 resident participation budget projects.

The general assembly, attended by about 100 people including Mayor Moon Heon-il, resident participation budget committee members, and neighborhood committee members, proceeded with watching a video on the 2022 resident participation budget project performance, announcing the 2023 resident participation budget operation status and final project decisions, and sharing impressions from the subcommittee chairpersons.

At this event, the district announced, “A total of 44 projects worth 1.8 billion KRW were selected, including 19 common district projects worth 1.288 billion KRW from the resident vote held from October 11 to 19, and 25 projects worth 512 million KRW finally decided by neighborhood meetings.”

The common district projects include proposals from five subcommittees?welfare, urban management, safety and construction, general administration, and health?such as ▲Storytelling project for children with disabilities ▲Maintenance of Solgil Children’s Park ▲Installation of public restrooms at Dorimcheon Stream ▲Maintenance of the district-run Kkum Namu Children’s Library ▲Creation of the ‘Memory Strong Playground’ for healthy aging.

Projects finally decided by neighborhood meetings include ▲Installation of floor traffic lights in Gocheok 1-dong ▲Additional installation of streetlight hanging flowerpots on Gocheok-ro in Gocheok 2-dong ▲Installation of mobile CCTV for unauthorized dumping guidance in Gaebong 1-dong ▲Improvement of urban park environment in Oryu 2-dong.

The final selected projects will be confirmed as next year’s budget after review by the district council.

A Guro-gu official said, “We thank the residents who actively participated with interest in selecting the resident participation budget projects. We will carefully oversee to ensure that the projects proposed, reviewed, and selected by residents through voting proceed smoothly.”

Jongno-gu (Mayor Jeong Moon-heon) will hold a briefing session for newly designated basic livelihood security recipients on the 26th, following the session held on the 19th.

The session targets about 120 new basic livelihood security and medical benefit recipients in 2022, aiming to explain the complex system in an easy-to-understand manner and thoroughly guide recipients on their rights and mandatory obligations.

The briefing session, held at Muak-dong Community Center on the 26th, focuses on supporting recipients to maintain eligibility and promoting residents’ healthy lives by covering ▲exemption systems and welfare benefits ▲reporting obligations ▲medical benefit system.

Additionally, professional instructors from the Seoul Pharmaceutical Association, Jongno Housing Welfare Center, Seoul Financial Welfare Counseling Center, and Jongno Regional Self-Support Center will participate.

They will lead lectures tailored to the audience’s level on topics such as ‘Prevention of Drug Abuse,’ ‘Types and Eligibility of Rental Housing,’ ‘Credit Management and Fraud Prevention Education,’ and ‘Self-Support Projects.’

Meanwhile, Jongno-gu has consistently held briefing sessions for newly designated basic livelihood security recipients since 2013 but did not hold them for the past three years due to COVID-19 prevention measures. The district also organizes visiting briefing sessions by dividing areas and visiting community centers, providing customized welfare counseling to continuously address welfare blind spots in the community.

Mayor Jeong Moon-heon said, “I hope this briefing session will be an opportunity for residents, who have longed for communication and exchange, to obtain useful welfare service information and interact with each other. We will continue to strive to implement detailed welfare policies that improve the quality of life for residents from all walks of life.”