Songpa-gu Garakbon-dong Community Center Elevator Installation and Vertical Extension... Seo Gang-seok, District Mayor, Keeps Promise to Residents

Last Year’s Dialogue with Garakbon-dong Residents Led to Many Suggestions
Transformation Completed After 4 Months of Construction... Elevator Installed, Expanded Resident Use Spaces
Seogangseok, Songpa District Mayor, “A Good Example of Servant Leadership, Hoping It Becomes a Safe and Comfortable Community Hub”

"Among the residents using the community center, many are elderly, and the building, which is over 30 years old, is not only narrow and worn out but also has steep stairs, making it dangerous. We hope it becomes a comfortable and safe gathering place."

This was a suggestion made by many residents, including Mr. Seong Baek-il (65), during the 'Dialogue with Garakbon-dong Residents' held on January 31 last year. In response, Seo Gang-seok, Mayor of Songpa District, promised on-site to install an elevator and expand the building, and recently, the results have come to fruition.

Songpa District (Mayor Seo Gang-seok) announced on the 10th that it held a 'Completion Ceremony for the Elevator Installation and Expansion Construction at Garakbon-dong Community Center' on the 8th.

The Garakbon-dong Community Center, completed in 1990, had insufficient space and outdated facilities compared to current administrative demands, causing significant inconvenience to residents. In particular, the stairs were high and narrow, raising safety concerns due to the increasing elderly population.

In fact, compared to 2008, when resident registration population statistics were first compiled by the system, the elderly population aged 65 and over in Garakbon-dong increased about threefold from 1,892 to 4,262 last year.

Accordingly, the district secured a project budget of 800 million KRW for residents' convenience and safety, and after four months of construction starting in October last year, completed the vertical expansion of the building and elevator installation.

With this project, the Garakbon-dong Community Center changed from a structure with one basement floor and two above-ground floors to one basement floor and three above-ground floors.

The district plans to rearrange the expanded space to support residents in receiving various administrative services in a more comfortable environment by establishing a new welfare counseling room and adding a community hall program room.

Seo Gang-seok, Mayor of Songpa District, stated, "This project is a good example of frugally using the precious taxes of our citizens while providing the proper services that residents want through servant leadership administration. We will continue to carefully support each local community center to become a focal point of residents' lives, encompassing not only unique administrative services but also welfare and culture."