Jung Won-oh, Seongdong District Mayor, Elected as President of the Local Governments Association for Gentrification Prevention

Following achievements such as the amendment of the Commercial Lease Protection Act and the enactment of the Local Commercial District Act, continuous efforts to publicize and legislate institutional improvement measures

Chairman Jeong Won-oh: “We will strive to create a cooperative city and local governments free from gentrification”

On the 16th, Jeong Won-oh, Mayor of Seongdong-gu, was elected as the 4th chairman of the 'Local Government Council for the Prevention of Gentrification and Sustainable Communities' (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Local Government Council’), composed of 38 local governments nationwide.

Mayor Jeong is so dedicated to preventing the harms of gentrification that he is nicknamed the 'Gentrification Doctor.' In 2016, Seongdong-gu took the lead in forming the Local Government Council as part of a policy for joint responses to gentrification among local governments.

The main functions of the Local Government Council include ▲promoting mutual cooperation among local communities and urging the enactment and amendment of related laws ▲spreading nationwide understanding and social consensus on the harms of gentrification. Jeong Won-oh served as chairman for the 1st and 2nd terms, and the 3rd term was led by Kim Seung-su, Mayor of Jeonju. For the 4th term, Mayor Jeong was re-elected and will lead the council for two years until March 2025.

Since its establishment in June 2016, the Local Government Council has actively worked to prevent the harms of gentrification. As a result, in September 2018, the National Assembly passed an amendment to the 'Commercial Building Lease Protection Act' extending the protection period from 5 to 10 years and lowering the rent increase cap from 9% to 5%. Subsequently, in July 2021, the 'Act on the Coexistence and Revitalization of Local Commercial Districts,' a law to prevent gentrification, was enacted.

As the newly elected chairman of the 4th Local Government Council, Seongdong-gu plans to advance to 'Gentrification Prevention Policy 2.0,' a step beyond existing policies. Although rights protection for commercial tenants has been strengthened through legal amendments and related laws have been established, institutional gaps have not yet been completely eliminated.

Chairman Jeong said, "I am deeply moved to be entrusted with the chairmanship of the Local Government Council once again. Drawing on past experience, I will work with member organizations to create a city that coexists with local commercial districts and local governments free from gentrification." He added, "We will collect opinions from all sectors and consult experts to carefully and prudently prepare improvement measures to strengthen protection for commercial tenants, striving to achieve further legislation."

Seongdong-gu plans to expand the spatial scope of gentrification management areas to include Seongsu Station and Yeonmujang-gil, which have recently emerged as hot spots, alongside publicizing and legislating institutional improvement measures as part of Gentrification Prevention Policy 2.0.

Seodaemun-gu becomes the first autonomous district in Seoul to be designated as a Women-Friendly City for the third consecutive time

Signed 'Women-Friendly City Designation Agreement' with the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family at the Government Seoul Office on the 16th

Promoting Women’s Safety Villages and Seodaemun-gu style part-time childcare projects

Seodaemun-gu (Mayor Lee Seong-heon) signed an agreement with the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family on the 16th at the Government Seoul Office to be designated as a Women-Friendly City.

This is the third designation for the district, following 2012 and 2017, making Seodaemun-gu the first autonomous district in Seoul to be designated as a Women-Friendly City three times consecutively.

Through this agreement, from 2023 to 2027, the district will cooperate with the Ministry to improve the quality of life for local residents and realize a happy community where women and men participate equally as a designated Women-Friendly City.

Under the vision of ‘Creating a Women-Friendly City Together,’ the district has been implementing various policies such as creating an environment where women can live safely, strengthening family-friendly care infrastructure, and expanding women’s social and economic participation.

With this designation, the district aims to continuously discover and promote women-friendly policies closely tailored to the local community based on accumulated achievements.

Currently, Seodaemun-gu is implementing projects such as ▲creating ‘Women’s Safety Villages’ in the residential safety zones concentrated in Sinchon-dong ▲‘Seodaemun-gu style part-time childcare’ to address care gaps ▲‘Resident Participation Group Gender Sensitivity Monitoring of District Publicity Materials’ to expand women’s opportunities for policy participation.

Mayor Lee Seong-heon said, “Through women-friendly policies enjoyed not only by women but all residents at the closest level to the community, we will strive to help our society move in a better direction.”

Jongno-gu (Mayor Jeong Moon-heon) achieved a great success by securing 20 million KRW in national funding after being selected in the ‘2023 Regional Lifelong Education Activation Support Project’ competition hosted by the Ministry of Education and the National Institute for Lifelong Education in the specialized lifelong learning city category.

Previously, the district planned local finder training education held at local lifelong learning centers, including Museum Hanmi in Bukchon and Sangchonjae in Seochon, under the theme ‘Jongno: Points, Lines, and Surfaces Newly Connected through Lifelong Learning.’

The focus was on providing residents with new learning experiences, linking local resources, and discovering talents to solve local issues.

Key programs include ▲local photographer education ‘Viewfinder, Capturing the Local’ ▲‘Sejong Village Local Docent Training’ guiding the Sangchonjae and Seochon areas ▲local archivist education ‘Glory Jongno: Modern Finder, Discovering the Charm of Jongno’ which archives the region in new ways.

Participants will be recruited through the lifelong education online platform ‘Jongno Education Portal’ within the first half of this year.

Meanwhile, Jongno-gu has consistently operated related programs to expand lifelong education opportunities accessible to all residents in daily life. Last year, it introduced diverse thematic programs covering ‘startups,’ ‘sustainable development,’ and ‘history and culture.’ It was also newly selected as a lifelong learning city in 2022 in recognition of its efforts.

Mayor Jeong Moon-heon stated, “Through this specialized project, we plan to strengthen networks with related institutions under the common goal of ‘local finder training.’ We will firmly support participants to grow into local talents who capture, guide, and newly archive Jongno’s past, present, and future.”