Seocho-gu Outdoor Advertising Maintenance Rated 'Top' for 10 Years

Seocho-gu Selected as the Only Autonomous District with '10 Consecutive Years of Excellence' in Seoul Outdoor Advertising Quality Improvement Evaluation

Seocho-gu Recognized as an Excellent Scenic City for 10 Years in Seoul for Illegal Outdoor Advertisements

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Seocho-gu has recently been recognized as the best scenic city for maintaining the cleanest illegal outdoor advertisements over the past 10 years.

Seocho-gu (Mayor Jeon Seong-su) announced that it was the only autonomous district in Seoul to be selected as an excellent district for 10 consecutive years in the 'Seoul Outdoor Advertisement Quality Improvement Evaluation.'

With this selection, the district has won a triple crown in urban aesthetics by being named the best district last month in the 'Seoul City Cleanliness Evaluation' and the 'Seoul City Sewer Odor Reduction Promotion Autonomous District Evaluation.' This means it has been officially recognized as the 'cleanest urban landscape city,' 'cleanest street city,' and 'odor-free pleasant city' in Seoul.

The Outdoor Advertisement Quality Improvement Evaluation assessed 10 items across three areas?outdoor advertisement maintenance and crackdown, and signboard quality improvement?carried out by each autonomous district from September last year to August this year. It evaluated the districts' efforts to create a clean urban landscape and establish a proper outdoor advertisement culture.

During the evaluation period, the district consistently promoted improvement and maintenance projects for outdoor advertisements to maintain a pleasant urban landscape, earning recognition for its achievements.

In particular, since July, the district has extensively cleaned up about 50 illegal banners used for long-term assemblies and protests in three areas with heavy foot traffic, including Gangnam Station. The district prepared a 'Major Protest Banner Mass Cleanup' plan and, in cooperation with Seocho Police Station, demonstrated the importance of public administrative enforcement to ensure residents' safety, maintain urban aesthetics, and establish law and order.

Additionally, the district operates a crackdown team composed of on-site public officials and maintenance contractors working year-round, removing about 20,000 illegal advertisements annually. Especially, dedicated crackdown teams were deployed during late-night hours in major commercial areas such as Gangnam-daero and Seocho-daero, contributing to the arrest of 15 illegal distributors.

Alongside this, the district completed replacing old signboards with energy-saving LED signboards for 115 businesses along a 1 km section of Dongsan-ro and carried out a 'special anti-illegal advertisement coating project' on about 500 roadside facilities such as streetlights and utility poles in areas including Bangbae-ro, Bangbae Jungang-ro, and Seocho-daero.

Moreover, the district created a pleasant environment in residential alleys by implementing a 'Resident Illegal Advertisement Collection Reward System,' where residents helped remove illegal posters and flyers in maintenance blind spots such as alleys. Over 1,130 elderly residents participated, collecting more than 7.5 million pieces.

Mayor Jeon Seong-su said, "Being selected as an excellent district for 10 consecutive years in the 'Outdoor Advertisement Quality Improvement Evaluation' is the fruit of the efforts of residents and Seocho colleagues to create a clean city," adding, "We will continue to strive to ensure that residents enjoy a pleasant and dignified urban landscape."

Dobong-gu Conducts Soundproof Wall Installation Construction on Gyeongwon Line Section from Chang-dong to Dobong Station

Dobong-gu (Mayor Oh Eon-seok) is carrying out soundproof wall installation construction on the Gyeongwon Line section from Chang-dong to Dobong Station to alleviate residents' inconvenience caused by railway noise.

The old soundproof walls on the Chang-dong to Dobong Station section were installed in the 1980s and have been in operation for 40 years. Due to facility aging, the soundproofing effect has decreased, and there have been continuous demands from Dobong-gu Office and residents for facility replacement. Accordingly, the Korea National Railway Corporation plans to carry out replacement construction by dividing the section into Chang-dong to Banghak (Section 1) and Banghak to Dobong (Section 2).

The construction is scheduled to proceed from August 2022 to October 2024. The walls will be replaced with gallery-type sound-absorbing soundproof walls to relieve residents' inconvenience and protect railway facilities from natural disasters such as wind and flood damage, thereby supporting safe operation.

Mayor Oh Eon-seok of Dobong-gu stated, "We will continue to discover and promote projects to improve the environment near railroads in the region."

Jongno-gu Completes Improvement Construction of Irregular Intersection in Front of District Office

Jongno-gu (Mayor Jeong Mun-heon) has completed improvement construction of the irregular intersection in front of the district office this month, providing a safe walking and traffic environment for citizens and tourists.

This is significant as it expanded and improved the road structure for the first time in 44 years since the road designation notice for citizen safety.

The site had mismatched road intersections, causing prolonged vehicle passing times, resulting in vehicle entanglement and congestion. Pedestrian space was also insufficient, leading to frequent cases of citizens walking on the roadway during commuting and lunch hours, causing frequent safety accidents.

To resolve these issues, the district selected the final improvement plan reflecting the traffic impact assessment of the new Jongno-gu office building and the police traffic regulation review results, and implemented this project.

The road alignment was changed to align the intersections, a roundabout was installed, and one-way traffic was implemented to exclude side road vehicle inflow. The reduced lane space was used to create and expand sidewalks, which is also notable.

This secured pedestrian paths for citizen safety and reduced crossing distances, improving the walking environment. Additionally, road alignment improvements and reduced vehicle delay times at the intersection provided a pleasant and safe driving environment, leading to its selection as a 'Representative Case of Excellent Traffic Culture Improvement Policy in Jongno-gu.'

Mayor Jeong Mun-heon said, "There must have been many inconveniences for both pedestrians and drivers in the busy downtown area," adding, "We expect this to contribute to preventing safety accidents and increasing convenience."

Gwanak Sinsa Market Arcade Repair Construction Underway... Total Project Cost 1.56 Billion KRW, Target Completion Within 2023

Gwanak-gu (Mayor Park Jun-hee) is undertaking a full repair of the arcade at Gwanak Sinsa Market to resolve inconvenience caused to merchants and customers due to aging and to create a safe market environment.

The Gwanak Sinsa Market arcade, first established in 2006, has functioned as a convenience facility allowing customers to use the market regardless of weather. However, after 16 years, it has aged and developed leaks, making full repair inevitable.

Despite the necessity for full repair, the district and the market merchants' association have long struggled to secure funding due to the high cost of several hundred million KRW.

Since 2021, the district has made continuous efforts to secure project funds and secured a total of 1.23 billion KRW in the 2023 budget, including 890 million KRW in city subsidies, but this fell short of the initially targeted 1.56 billion KRW, making project progress challenging.

Accordingly, the district actively conveyed the project's necessity to Seoul City and the Seoul Metropolitan Council and requested support, securing an additional 330 million KRW in special adjustment grants, finally enabling the promotion of the long-awaited Gwanak Sinsa Market arcade repair project.

The construction will completely replace the arcade roofing materials spanning 320 meters in length, 6 meters in width, and 8.7 meters in height from the market's south gate to the north gate. The district plans to complete design services by February next year and commence full repair construction in April. Additionally, efforts will be made to improve drainage facilities such as rainwater inlets to prevent flooding, and repaint the aging existing steel frame structures to significantly enhance the environment.

The district plans to complete preparations such as contract reviews for design services within this year to minimize weather impacts like the monsoon during construction and to expedite the project. It will also maintain continuous communication with the Gwanak Sinsa Market merchants' association to minimize inconvenience to merchants and actively reflect their opinions during construction.

A district official said, "We will mobilize all administrative power to ensure the timely completion of the Gwanak Sinsa Market arcade repair project, a long-standing wish of market merchants and residents, to alleviate their inconvenience."