[Seoul District News] Gangnam-gu Issues Year-End Tax Refund Applications Including Local Income Tax... Inquiry and Application via Phone, Text, Internet... Gwangjin-gu Conducts Unified Clearance of 190 Million Won Local Tax Unclaimed Refunds This Month... Mapo-gu Provides 'Visiting Children's Safety Experience Education' at 5 Elementary Schools... Seongbuk-gu Offers CPR Training for About 80 New Public Officials... Gangseo-gu Holds '2022 Disaster Response Safety Korea Training' from 14th to 25th & Joint Drill on 22nd with Gangseo Fire Station, Seoul Metro Line 9, Seoul Transportation Corporation
[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Gangnam-gu (District Mayor Jo Seong-myeong) refunded 131.3 billion KRW in local tax refunds to taxpayers from January to October this year. Additionally, it plans to process about 1.8 billion KRW in unpaid refunds due to applicant information errors by the end of the year through a comprehensive cleanup.
Local tax refunds mainly consist of local income tax refunds following national tax adjustments such as year-end tax settlements and refunds arising from vehicle tax prepayments followed by ownership transfers or scrapping. Most refunds are small amounts under 50,000 KRW, so many taxpayers are unaware of their refunds or are reluctant to apply for them.
If refunds are not claimed within five years, they expire due to the statute of limitations. To prevent disadvantages to taxpayers, the district notifies them through various methods such as SNS (text message) alerts and mailing refund notices. It also actively takes measures to return unpaid refunds by updating addresses and verifying heirs of deceased taxpayers. Furthermore, refunds are processed on the day of application to ensure prompt payment.
Local tax refunds can be checked online via eTax, WiTax, Government24, etc., without visiting the district office, and applications can be easily made online, by phone, text, or fax.
Jo Seong-myeong, Mayor of Gangnam-gu, said, “I hope the refunds have provided economic relief to taxpayers facing financial difficulties due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic. We will conduct a comprehensive cleanup of remaining refunds by year-end and actively pursue measures to fundamentally minimize unclaimed refunds.”
Gwangjin-gu (District Mayor Kim Gyeong-ho) will operate a one-month period in November to organize unclaimed local tax refunds that taxpayers have not collected.
The district regularly notifies taxpayers of refund occurrences through notices and phone calls when refund targets arise, but as of the end of September, 5,554 cases totaling 190 million KRW in unclaimed refunds remain.
Therefore, Gwangjin-gu will run November as a local tax unclaimed refund cleanup period, actively promoting refunds by sending notices to all refund targets, producing and sending multilingual refund notices for foreign taxpayers, verifying heirs, and using various media such as the website, SNS, and electronic billboards.
Eligible residents can receive refunds through various methods: online applications via KakaoTalk (channel name: Gwangjin-gu Local Tax Refund), Seoul ETAX, WiTax, smartphone app STAX, Government24, or via text message dedicated numbers, fax, and phone applications.
Notably, the KakaoTalk refund application service allows choosing donation instead of receiving the refund, helping low-income vulnerable groups.
Kim Gyeong-ho, Mayor of Gwangjin-gu, said, “Local tax refunds expire if not claimed within five years. You can conveniently donate refunds to vulnerable groups in the region via mobile, so even small amounts should be claimed or donated to exercise your property rights.”
Meanwhile, since electronic financial fraud may occur by exploiting the cleanup period, taxpayers should be especially cautious of voice phishing and other scams via ATMs.
Mapo-gu (District Mayor Park Gang-su) will conduct ‘Visiting Children’s Safety Experience Education’ for elementary school students to prevent safety accidents and develop their ability to respond independently in crisis situations.
Disaster safety experts will visit elementary schools with various safety experience equipment and conduct practical safety experience programs tailored to children’s perspectives.
The education will be held from November 8 to 25 for children at five elementary schools in Mapo-gu. The main programs include disaster safety education, daily safety education, first aid education, and traffic safety education. They will teach children easy-to-understand response methods for situations they may encounter, such as how to use a fire extinguisher during a fire, how to respond in emergencies, CPR techniques, and how to cross crosswalks safely.
An official from the district said, “This is not a simple theory-based lecture or video viewing but practical training for accidents that may occur in real situations.” They added, “Through communication with expert instructors, we aim to provide useful education that answers children’s usual questions.”
Park Gang-su, Mayor of Mapo-gu, said, “Safety can never be overemphasized, and especially for children, experiencing once is more effective than hearing a hundred times.” He added, “We will continue efforts to establish a safety culture in our society through various safety experience programs for residents, including children.”
Newly appointed public officials of Seongbuk-gu are practicing CPR on the 7th under the instructor's guidance during the training session.
Seongbuk-gu (District Mayor Lee Seung-ro) will conduct CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) training for about 80 newly appointed public officials on the 7th and 8th of this month.
Following the Itaewon tragedy, the importance of proper initial response at emergency scenes has been greatly emphasized, prompting the district to provide essential safety education for new officials.
The training, professionally conducted by the Korean Professional Emergency Care Association, will last one hour and cover CPR and automated external defibrillator (AED) usage. It includes expert theoretical explanations and practical exercises such as chest compressions to significantly improve real-life emergency application rates.
Lee Seung-ro, Mayor of Seongbuk-gu, said, “Emergency treatments like CPR performed within the golden time drastically increase patient survival rates. I hope this training equips officials with the ability to save lives of residents and colleagues in accidents like the recent tragedy and fosters a sense of duty to care for others.”
Meanwhile, until mid-month, the district broadcasts CPR method videos during live YouTube streams of the ‘One-day On-site Mayor’s Office’ held in 20 neighborhoods, allowing all residents to access emergency treatment methods.
Additionally, experiential safety education including CPR practice will be conducted this and next month for vulnerable groups such as children and seniors at local elementary schools and senior welfare centers. A district official added, “We plan to gradually expand CPR education for institutions and residents to raise safety awareness and improve response capabilities.”
Gangseo-gu, Seoul (District Mayor Kim Tae-woo) is launching realistic drills to protect residents’ precious lives and property from various disasters and accidents.
The district announced it will conduct the ‘2022 Disaster Response Safety Korea Drill’ from the 14th to the 25th to build a safe environment city in harmony with nature.
The Disaster Response Safety Korea Drill is a comprehensive exercise to protect citizens’ lives and property from disasters such as fires and earthquakes.
For the past two years, it was conducted mainly as non-face-to-face discussion drills to prevent COVID-19 spread, but this year it will focus on on-site drills to strengthen response capabilities during crises.
The main drill this year is an on-site exercise on the 22nd themed ‘Response to Subway and Complex Building Fires Caused by Arson.’
The on-site drill, conducted jointly by the district, Seoul Metro Line 9 Co., Ltd., and Seoul Transportation Corporation, will take place at Gimpo Airport Station, a key transportation hub where four subway lines intersect.
Gimpo Airport Station has a complex shopping mall and sees about 40,000 passengers daily across four subway lines, so large-scale casualties could occur in case of disasters.
The drill will simulate all processes from fire occurrence, passenger evacuation, fire suppression, rescue, to recovery, in a realistic manner rather than a mere demonstration.
To establish a cooperative system for rapid disaster response, 12 related organizations including Gangseo Police Station and Army Unit 5602, as well as four private institutions and groups including Lotte Mall Gimpo Airport Station branch, will participate alongside Gangseo Fire Station’s comprehensive emergency rescue training.
Based on the drill results, the district plans to review cooperation with related organizations and systematic responses according to manuals to build a faster and more accurate disaster response system.
Kim Tae-woo, Mayor of Gangseo-gu, said, “Effective response to sudden disasters requires realistic prior training and close cooperation with related organizations. We will devote all efforts to making Gangseo-gu a safe environment city where all residents can live without worry through continuous training and thorough preparation.”
During the Safety Korea Drill period from the 14th to the 25th, the district will also conduct various training to strengthen disaster response capabilities, including discussion-based drills, control and evacuation drills based on citizen action guidelines, and CPR and first aid education.
Seongdong Life Safety Learning Center announced it is promoting safety education such as CPR in preparation for disaster situations and has expanded safety education following the Itaewon tragedy.
Located near Wangsimni Station in Majang-dong, Seongdong Life Safety Learning Center is easily accessible and occupies 214㎡ on the first floor. It provides customized education by age and target group according to various disaster scenarios. This year, it has educated a total of 6,308 people, including adults, children aged 5 to 7, elementary to high school students, companies, and private organizations.
Safety education includes permanent programs on life-saving skills such as CPR, AED usage, and the Heimlich maneuver, designed for convenient and easy access by anyone. Experiential education covers everyday dangers like elevator escape and natural disaster responses such as earthquakes and ship evacuation.
Following the Itaewon tragedy, inquiries about CPR education have surged, leading to an increase from 20 to 34 sessions scheduled in November. In December, 30 CPR education sessions will continue, held twice daily on weekdays (10 a.m. and 2 p.m.), each lasting two hours.
Until this year, to promote nationwide safety experience education, not only Seongdong residents but also interested residents from other districts can apply. Interested individuals can inquire via the center’s website or phone to receive free education.
Center Director Kang Seong-ho has worked since 2015 and holds disaster safety instructor qualifications, actively leading stable education including CPR training. He said, “Since the Itaewon tragedy, CPR inquiries have exploded, with over 30 calls daily. November sessions are nearly full, but December sessions are still open.”
Additionally, the district health center annually provides CPR and first aid education to local institutions and groups (20 or more people), including elementary, middle, and high schools and senior care centers, conducting 51 sessions for 5,465 people this year.
The center also offers weekend water safety experiential programs for elementary students and parents, covering survival swimming and life jacket use to prepare for seasonal risks like summer water activities.
Jung Won-oh, Mayor of Seongdong-gu, said, “The Life Safety Learning Center is established for residents’ life and safety, enabling disaster preparedness and safety awareness through experience. As Seoul’s first regional comprehensive safety experience center, we will spare no support to help residents safely cope with any disaster.”
Dongjak-gu (District Mayor Park Il-ha) announced it will operate a ‘Health Experience Center’ in front of the Boramae Park Music Fountain in Sindaebang-dong on the 9th.
The Health Experience Center is designed to provide various experiential activities and consultations to all residents visiting Boramae Park, aiming to raise health awareness and promote residents’ health.
Organized by Dongjak-gu Public Health Center, multiple institutions including the Children’s Meal Support Center, Mental Health Welfare Center, and Dongjak Fire Station participate. The center consists of 11 experience zones and 4 promotional zones.
Experience zones include the ‘4-Minute Miracle! CPR Experience Zone’ where visitors can learn CPR and AED usage, and a children’s dietary experience zone offering color food nutrition education and hygiene education simultaneously.
Additionally, diverse programs such as making fruit juice with an eco-bike and a virtual drinking experience dart game to emphasize the importance of physical activity and eating habits for healthy aging are prepared.
Promotional zones will feature campaigns on organ donation, maternal and child health projects including infertility treatment and pregnancy preparation support, and information on vaccinations and infectious disease prevention.
Park Il-ha, Mayor of Dongjak-gu, said, “I hope residents enjoy a fun and meaningful time through various health experiences at this event. We will continue efforts to improve the health of Dongjak residents.”
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