Research Project Underway Aiming for 2025 International Safe City Certification
Residents of Yeonsu-gu, Incheon, identified 'traffic accidents' and 'violence and crime' as the most urgent safety issues to be addressed, and expressed concerns about 'traffic accidents' followed by 'mental health and suicide' as safety issues expected to increase in the future.
Yeonsu-gu announced the results of a safety awareness survey conducted among local residents as part of the ongoing "Basic Research Service for International Safe City Certification." The survey, conducted by the Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation of Hyupsung University, was carried out from May with 324 Yeonsu-gu residents and 340 Yeonsu-gu public officials participating.
According to the results, residents identified the most urgent safety issues to be resolved as traffic accidents (48%), violence and crime (16.8%), daily life safety (12.1%), mental health and suicide (9.7%), and emergency response capability (5.3%), in that order. Regarding safety issues expected to increase in the future, they answered traffic accidents (44.4%), followed by mental health and suicide (19.8%), violence and crime (15.6%), daily life safety (8.5%), and emergency response capability (6.5%).
Among Yeonsu-gu public officials, the safety issue expected to increase the most in the future was mental health and suicide (33.8%), followed by traffic accidents (28.8%), violence and crime (17.9%), and daily life safety (11.5%). The safety issues perceived as most necessary by life cycle stage were daily life safety for infancy (42.3%), traffic accidents for childhood (48.8%), violence and crime for adolescence (53.4%), mental health for adulthood (41.8%), and emergency response for old age (25.7%).
Additionally, residents ranked 'the district mayor's policy will and interest in safety (84.3%)' as the most important success factor for promoting safe city projects, followed by 'an objective diagnosis of the region's safety level (83.5%).'
An international safe city is a city that is internationally certified as one where all members of the community continuously and actively work to create a city safe from accidents and disasters. Certification is granted after evaluation by the International Safe Cities Certification Center located in Stockholm, Sweden.
Yeonsu-gu aims to obtain certification by December 2025 and plans to develop mid- to long-term safety enhancement programs and project indicators considering regional characteristics during the remaining service period. In particular, a regional safety governance involving both public and private sectors will be formed in five areas: regional safety, traffic safety, fall prevention, suicide prevention, and violence prevention, to continuously improve urban safety through practical discussions.
Lee Jae-ho, Mayor of Yeonsu-gu, stated, "The importance of 'safety' is confirmed as it is ranked as the top priority in evaluating the value of a city," adding, "Through the international safe city certification project, we will establish safety policies that all residents can feel and participate in, creating a sustainable international safe city."
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