Why Did Oh Seung-rok, Mayor of Nowon District, Consecutively Recruit Former Seoul Green City Directors?

Former Seoul Green City Director Choi Kwang-bin Retires After 5 Years as Nowon Healing City Director, Publishing Book... Former Seoul Green City Leisure Director Yoo Young-bong Joins as Nowon Healing City Director

Oh Seung-rok, Mayor of Nowon District

Former directors of the Green City Bureau, the highest-ranking green space officials in Seoul, have been consecutively appointed as heads of the green space sector in Nowon-gu, drawing attention.

Choi Kwang-bin, a former director who served twice as the Seoul Green City Bureau chief, worked as the Healing City Bureau chief of Nowon-gu for five years before retiring. He was succeeded this month by Yoo Young-bong, the immediate past director of the Seoul Green City Bureau, who has been appointed as the Healing City Bureau chief of Nowon-gu and is currently serving in that role.

This move reflects Nowon-gu Mayor Oh Seung-rok’s decision to recruit top experts in the green space field, considering the district’s characteristics of having many mountains such as Bulamsan and several streams.

Legendary Green Space Official Choi Kwang-bin, Former Seoul Green City Bureau Chief, Served 5 Years as Nowon-gu Healing City Bureau Chief, Retired Last October... Currently Publishing a Book

Choi Kwang-bin passed the 1980 administrative technical civil service exam (green space category) and dedicated himself to creating representative parks in Seoul, including Yeouido Park (during Mayor Jo Soon’s term), World Cup Park and Seonyudo Park (Mayor Ko Gun), Seoul Forest (Mayor Lee Myung-bak), Buk Seoul Dream Forest (Mayor Oh Se-hoon), as well as the Gyeongchun and Gyeongui Line forest trails.

During Mayor Oh Se-hoon’s 4th term, Choi served as the Green City Bureau chief and was later appointed deputy mayor of Nowon-gu, significantly contributing to the development of parks in Nowon-gu.

He also served again as the Seoul Green City Bureau chief during Mayor Park Won-soon’s administration, making him a living witness to the history of Seoul’s Green City Bureau. For this reason, Choi is regarded as a ‘legend’ among Seoul’s green space officials.

Choi Kwang-bin, Former Director of the Green City Bureau of Seoul, Director of the Healing City Bureau of Nowon-gu

Even after retiring from public service, Choi served as the transition committee chairman for Nowon-gu Mayor Oh Seung-rok’s administration during the 7th local election term, then worked as a contract employee for five years as the Healing City Bureau chief before retiring last month.

During this period, he promoted projects such as the Bulamsan and Suraksan Healing Towns, Baegun Valley development, and park regeneration projects, earning recognition for helping transform Nowon-gu into a true healing city.

Choi said, “I have set up a small office near my home and am preparing to publish a book containing behind-the-scenes stories related to park development during my public service career.”

As a living witness to Seoul’s park development, Choi is expected to document the history of Seoul’s landscaping, attracting attention.

Choi has many juniors following him, including Yoo Young-bong, former director of the Seoul Green City and Leisure Bureau, and is expected to continue providing advice and support without rest.

Director Yoo Young-bong

Former Director Yoo Young-bong Appointed Nowon-gu Healing City Bureau Chief

Yoo Young-bong, former director of the Seoul Green City and Leisure Bureau, graduated from the Department of Environmental Horticulture at the University of Seoul and began his public service career as a grade 7 civil servant in Seoul in September 1990, serving for 33 years until December 2023.

During his career, Yoo held various positions including roles in Gangdong-gu, Seoul Grand Park, the Green City Bureau (such as Director of the Natural Ecology Division and Director of the Park and Green Space Policy Division), and director of the Seoul Green City and Leisure Bureau.

He also worked at Nowon-gu Office from April 2006 to April 2008.

While serving in Seoul, Yoo contributed to the creation of Buk Seoul Dream Forest, providing a monumental large park for citizens in the northeastern part of Seoul, and established the 2040 Seoul Park and Green Space Master Plan, setting strategies and visions to meet current and future demands for green leisure.

He also developed strategies to revitalize large parks that have passed 20 years since their initial creation, aiming to make them more attractive spaces by responding to diversified green leisure demands and customizing restructuring according to park characteristics.

Notably, Yoo led projects such as the creation of the World Cup Park Flower Park, glamping site, and sunset observatory, the Cultural Storage Base, and Changpowon, restructuring these spaces and establishing an organic linear network of green spaces throughout Seoul to improve pedestrian access to parks and green spaces through linear and three-dimensional urban forest networks (Seoul Dulle-gil 2.0, Seoul Green Road).

He also expanded forest experience centers for young children to learn and play in nature, enhancing creativity and imagination.

During his time at Nowon-gu, Yoo completed projects in the Green City Division (120 projects - 11 pledges, 49 new, 60 existing), Leisure City Division (40 projects - 6 pledges, 3 new, 31 existing), and Urban Landscape Division (17 projects - 1 pledge, 2 new, 14 existing), and planned the creation of Suraksan Natural Recreation Forest and the Suraksan Dongmakgol Circular Trail.

He also planned to complete the second phase of the Choa Mountain Hydrangea Garden and manage and finalize existing Healing Town projects.

A Seoul Green City and Leisure Bureau official commented, “Mayor Oh Seung-rok’s recruitment of top green space experts, first former director Choi Kwang-bin and now director Yoo Young-bong, is expected to greatly contribute to the development of Nowon-gu.”