[Interview] Choi Hogwon, Yeongdeungpo District Mayor: "Top Welfare Jobs, Jobs Are the Starting Point of Urban Development"

Statistics Korea Announces 'Si/Gun/Gu Major Employment Indicators' First Half Employment Rate Hits Record High, 1st Among Seoul Districts
District Mayor Choi Ho-kwon Declares "Making Yeongdeungpo a Hub for 4th Industrial Revolution Jobs Near Residences"

"The best welfare is jobs, and the starting point of urban development is also jobs."

Choi Ho-kwon, Mayor of Yeongdeungpo-gu, expressed his firm belief in jobs through an interview.

According to the "2023 First Half Regional Employment Survey Major Employment Indicators by City and District" released by Statistics Korea last month, Yeongdeungpo-gu's employment rate recorded 65.2%, up 2.9% from 62.3% last year, ranking first among Seoul's autonomous districts.

In Mayor Choi's book, Choi Ho-kwon, the Dream of Local Autonomy, he stated, "The best welfare is job creation through economic growth. Only economic growth guarantees sustainable welfare. The core of economic growth is corporate jobs," reflecting his strong will regarding jobs and the district administration philosophy based on it.

Jobs are not simply about increasing the number. Creating quality jobs is of utmost importance. Last October, the district co-hosted the "Middle-aged and Senior Hope Employment Fair" with the Federation of Korean Industries, where 25 companies participated and 426 people applied for interviews, supporting employment for the middle-aged and senior groups. Building on this, a "Middle-aged and Senior Reemployment Support Activation Agreement" was signed to strengthen cooperation with the private sector, laying the foundation for expanding private sector jobs.

In addition, the district continuously strives to create quality jobs through ▲corporate recruitment demand surveys ▲mobile job discovery teams ▲employment fairs tailored to job seekers ▲one-on-one on-site interviews between job seekers and recruiting companies called JOB FOR YOU ▲AI interview experiences.

Especially since the 8th local government term, focused projects such as ▲training digital marketing experts for youth employment support and other 4th industrial revolution specialized personnel ▲operating the metaverse platform "YeongTown," a communication space for exchanging employment information and consulting ▲customized job creation through employment fairs and job matching have been intensively promoted. As a result, despite challenges such as inflation and economic slowdown over the past year, 1,154 people were placed in jobs, achieving a 10.5% increase in employment rate compared to the previous year.

Mayor Choi is also focusing on senior citizen jobs to ensure a vibrant old age. The senior job project "Damchan," which provides lunchboxes and side dishes, is a market-type job where increased profits lead to more jobs, presenting a new model for senior job creation.

The district plans to expand jobs for vulnerable employment groups such as career-interrupted women, multicultural families, low-income groups, and seniors, while also focusing on building infrastructure for creating good jobs beyond public jobs and nurturing talent to lead the 4th industrial revolution.

Choi Ho-kwon, Mayor of Yeongdeungpo-gu, stated, "The reason people gather in a city is because there are jobs. Without jobs, people leave and the city inevitably declines," expressing his ambition to make Yeongdeungpo a 4th industrial revolution job hub with close proximity between residence and workplace.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.