Gangbuk-gu Establishes 'New City Hall Construction Promotion Team' and 'Cultural Life Bureau'

Focus on Four Key Directions Including Performance-Oriented Organization, Reflecting Administrative Environment and Policy Demand... New Office Construction T/F Team Expanded to New Office Construction Promotion Group... Full-Scale Promotion of New Office Construction Project... Establishment of Culture and Life Bureau... Strengthening Administrative Areas Closely Related to Residents' Lives... Establishment of Disaster Safety Division to Enhance Disaster Response Organizational Capabilities

Gangbuk-gu, Seoul (Mayor Lee Soon-hee) will implement an administrative organization restructuring effective January 1, 2024, to make a full-fledged leap forward as the first year of the 8th elected term concludes.

This organizational restructuring focuses on four main directions: ▲forming a performance-oriented organization to execute key projects of the 8th elected term ▲demand-driven, user-centered organizational restructuring reflecting administrative environment and policy needs ▲customized organizational restructuring suited to regional characteristics and environment ▲maximizing organizational operational efficiency through interdepartmental function adjustments and personnel reallocations.

With this restructuring, starting next year, Gangbuk-gu’s organizational system will change from 5 bureaus, 1 division, 2 offices, 30 departments, and 139 teams to 6 bureaus, 2 divisions, 2 offices, 32 departments, and 142 teams, adding 1 bureau, 1 division, 2 departments, and 3 teams.

Establishment of ‘New Office Construction Promotion Team’ for Gangbuk-gu New Office Building; Disaster Safety Division newly created; Administrative Management Bureau renamed to Administrative Safety Bureau

As a detailed restructuring measure, the Administrative Safety Bureau (formerly Administrative Management Bureau) will establish a New Office Construction Promotion Team. Following the conditional approval of the new office construction project by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety’s central investment review in November, the district will expand the New Office Construction T/F team, previously under the Administrative Support Division, into the New Office Construction Promotion Team to actively promote the project starting next year. The promotion team aims to begin construction in 2026 and will undertake basic design and detailed development planning for the new office building, manage public architectural planning services, and oversee detailed planning and design competitions for resident convenience facilities within the new office.

Additionally, to strengthen disaster safety response capabilities, a ‘Disaster Safety Division,’ the comprehensive disaster safety department, will be newly established under the Administrative Safety Bureau. The Disaster Safety Division integrates the previously dispersed urban safety functions by combining five teams: ▲Safety and Flood Control Division’s Disaster Management Team (formerly Urban Safety Team) and Life Safety Team (formerly Facility Safety Team) ▲Major Accident Prevention Team from the Administrative Support Division ▲Integrated Control Team (formerly Integrated Safety Control Team) from the Digital Information Division ▲and Civil Defense Team from the Autonomous Administration Division.

Planning and Economy Bureau strengthens youth support... Job Support Division renamed to Job and Youth Division

The Planning and Economy Bureau will rename the Job Support Division to the Job and Youth Division to enhance policy support and expand projects related to youth. To improve efficiency in acquisition tax tasks and strengthen follow-up management and expertise, an Acquisition Tax Team will be newly established within the Taxation Division 1. Additionally, the Real Estate Information Division, previously under the Planning and Economy Bureau, will be transferred to the Urban Management Bureau according to interdepartmental functional adjustments.

Newly established Culture and Life Bureau to focus on culture, tourism, lifestyle, and sports projects

The newly established Culture and Life Bureau in 2024 will consist of five departments: Culture and Tourism, Lifestyle Sports, Education Support, Environment, and Cleaning Administration. This measure aims to strengthen project connectivity and expertise by consolidating departments closely related to residents’ cultural and daily life activities into one bureau.

To this end, the existing Culture, Tourism, and Sports Division will be split into two departments: Culture and Tourism, and Lifestyle Sports, to reinforce support systems for culture, tourism, lifestyle, and sports projects. The Culture and Tourism Department will be responsible for tourism-specialized projects and tourism promotion, while the newly created Lifestyle Sports Department will manage lifestyle sports events and classes, the creation and management of new sports facilities, and operation and management of lifestyle experience facilities such as the Ui-dong Family Camping Site and Mountain Culture Hub (HUB).

Welfare and Life Bureau reorganized into Welfare Bureau... “Strengthening senior welfare projects”

With the transfer of the Cleaning Administration Department to the Culture and Life Bureau, the existing Welfare and Life Bureau will be reorganized into the Welfare Bureau to establish an organizational foundation focused on welfare. A key change is the establishment of a ‘Senior Care Team’ within the Seniors and Disabled Department, reflecting Gangbuk-gu’s increasing senior population. This team will strengthen areas related to senior care, including home welfare services, home care services, and senior leisure welfare programs.

Construction, Safety, and Transportation Bureau reorganized into Transportation and Construction Bureau, focusing on attracting the new Gangbuk Line and early opening of the Dongbuk Line

The Construction, Safety, and Transportation Bureau will be reorganized into the Transportation and Construction Bureau. This change supports Mayor Lee Soon-hee’s major campaign pledges to attract the new Gangbuk Line and expedite the opening of the Dongbuk Line. The organizational structure will be adjusted in the order of Transportation Administration Division, Road Management Division, Flood Control Division (formerly Safety and Flood Control Division), Construction Management Division, and Parking Management Division according to functional tasks.

Mayor Lee Soon-hee of Gangbuk-gu said, “2024 is a time to feel the achievements of the first year of the 8th elected term and to devote more effort to change and development based on these results. We will do our best to realize a Gangbuk-gu that empowers residents’ lives by reflecting the policy demands desired by the residents.”

Meanwhile, to facilitate the new office building construction, some departments are operating separately in external offices. The Regional Economy Division and Education Support Division operate on the 7th and 10th floors of Woosung Building (1035 Hancheon-ro, Gangbuk-gu), located a 2-minute walk from the Gangbuk-gu Office. The three departments newly established on January 1, 2024 ? Job and Youth Division, Lifestyle Sports Department, and Environment Department ? operate on the 8th floor of Beondong Costa Tower (358 Dobong-ro, Gangbuk-gu), a 5-minute walk from the Gangbuk-gu Office.