Seogangseok, Songpa District Mayor, Successfully Completes First 'Dialogue with Residents' of the 8th Term

Conversation with residents of Oryun-dong on February 2nd

Seo Gang-seok, District Mayor, Conducts Talk Concerts Visiting All 27 Neighborhoods... Meets Over 10,000 Residents, 350 per Session

Over 500 Suggestions Addressed On-site, Receiving Strong Resident Support

Representative Cases Include Special Heating Cost Support and Establishment of Outdoor Exercise Equipment Management Guidelines

Songpa-gu (District Mayor Seo Gang-seok) announced the successful completion of the first on-site communication event of the 8th local government term, “Dialogue with Residents,” held from January 16 to February 28.

Mayor Seo explained the background, stating, “Songpa-gu has the largest number of administrative neighborhoods in Seoul with 27, but to listen more closely to the voices of residents, we conducted on-site communication by visiting every neighborhood without exception.”

Approximately 350 residents attended each neighborhood session, totaling around 10,000 participants. The total dialogue time was 54 hours, equivalent to 2.25 days, with each session lasting 2 hours.

Notably, unlike previous events, the talk concerts were conducted directly by the district mayor without a professional moderator, attracting attention. The mayor also responded to suggestions on the spot without department heads, earning positive feedback from residents.

There were over 500 suggestions ranging from major issues such as cultural heritage regulations in Pungnap-dong and rapid promotion of redevelopment and reconstruction, to practical matters like parking enforcement, expansion of security CCTV, and school facility improvements.

Among these, more than half?about 290 cases including 120 immediately addressed on-site?are planned to be implemented within this year. Around 90 projects requiring budget approval will undergo detailed review before proceeding.

As a representative example, the district promptly implemented heating cost support for senior centers in Seokchon-dong, where the first dialogue was held on January 16, gaining trust in the administration. Since late January, an additional 150,000 KRW heating subsidy has been provided monthly for three months to 67 senior centers used as cold-weather shelters within the district.

Requests for outdoor exercise equipment management, commonly raised in each neighborhood, were also swiftly addressed. Management guidelines and inspection systems for outdoor exercise equipment have been established to maintain 1,292 units installed across 146 locations such as neighborhood parks in optimal condition.

Additionally, before the dialogues, Mayor Seo provided a detailed explanation of this year’s budget of 1.1752 trillion KRW and shared the vision of “Songpa, a premium city serving residents as owners,” along with 100 major projects, garnering residents’ interest.

Seo Gang-seok, Mayor of Songpa-gu, expressed, “I thank all residents who came out to talk with the district mayor even on cold winter days,” and added, “All the suggestions made were matters that the administration should have naturally addressed. We will work harder to ensure that everything is accomplished during the 8th local government term in Songpa-gu.”