[Interview] Jeon Seong-su, Seocho District Mayor: "Creating a Workplace Where Employees Are Happy"

"Employees Must Be Happy to Provide the Best Service to Residents"
1,600 Seocho Colleagues Foster a Vibrant Organizational Culture
‘Healing Coupons’ Distributed to Dong Resident Center Officials

"We will create Seocho-gu Office where the commute to work is as enjoyable as the commute home."

Jeon Seong-su, the mayor of Seocho-gu, Seoul, is an administrative expert with 30 years of public service experience, having graduated from Seoul National University School of Law, passed the civil service exam, and worked at the Seoul Metropolitan Government and central government agencies. In particular, with 20 years of experience at the Seoul Metropolitan Government and serving as the Deputy Mayor of Incheon, he deeply empathizes with the stress and difficulties faced by civil servants handling civil complaints.

In a recent interview, Mayor Jeon expressed his determination to create a workplace where employees are happy. He usually emphasizes "responsive administration," which means administering from the perspective of the demand side rather than the supplier side. This responsiveness applies not only to residents but also within the organization.

He calls the 1,600 district office employees "Seocho colleagues" and responds to ensure they can work excitedly and joyfully. Mayor Jeon encouraged the employees by saying, "As the mayor, I mainly provide direction, and the actual work is done by the Seocho colleagues." He is working hard to create a work environment where Seocho public officials can work happily and enthusiastically. This is based on the belief that "Seocho public officials must be happy to provide proactive and high-quality administrative services to residents, which in turn increases residents' happiness."

He pays close attention to the mental health of civil servants handling civil complaints. Frontline civil servants often suffer from emotional labor and frequently experience emotional wounds in the process. He takes care to heal the emotional scars caused by some malicious complaints and prevent trauma. In July last year, when remodeling the OK Civil Complaint Center on the first floor of the district office, a "private room, Adamso (我談所)" was created.

This approximately 2-pyeong (about 6.6 square meters) space is equipped with a whale painting symbolizing hope and refreshments, providing a place for civil servants to soothe their troubled minds. It includes a comfortable recliner chair with Bluetooth speaker functionality and an ice water purifier. So far, it has been used about 420 times, with 2 to 3 people using it daily on average. Employees enjoy simple tea and music to heal their minds tired from malicious complaints.

Additionally, civil servants handling complaints at community service centers, who are in direct contact with the public, are given coffee coupons to use at nearby cafes to help heal their emotional fatigue. These coupons are distributed once per quarter; last year, a total of four distributions were made to 619 employees. In February this year, 162 employees received healing coupons, with plans to distribute more in May, August, and November.

Along with this, "healing coupons" are provided to community service center civil servants. Healing programs that can soothe the minds of civil servants handling complaints are also operated. Last year, various experiential programs such as lamp making, cutting board crafting, and perfume making were conducted five times, with about 230 participants. This year, based on employee preferences, diverse programs have been prepared, expanding the target to include civil servants handling repetitive and chronic complaints.

This month, healing programs will be held in four sessions. These include two "Art Museum Docent Tours" to appreciate beautiful artworks, a "Musical Viewing" session for healing with exciting music, and a "One-day Healing Trip" on a high-class tourist train, providing time to temporarily forget daily stress and heal.

Furthermore, the "Employee Stress Management Project" is also being promoted. Since October last year, this project has been underway to manage employee stress. Due to the recent increase in "malicious and chronic complaints," job stress has grown, and more employees are complaining about difficulties balancing work and family life, so systematic support is being provided.

Accordingly, a mental health expert with a clinical psychologist license has been hired to work full-time. A dedicated space for face-to-face counseling called "Mind Garden," about 17 square meters in size, has been established on the basement first floor of the district office to improve accessibility for civil servants and allow them to focus comfortably on counseling. Various programs are offered, including one-on-one psychological counseling, a "Comprehensive Stress Test for All Employees" using an autonomic nervous system testing device (HRV), personality type (MBTI) tests, drawing tests, child personality type tests, and group counseling.

Additionally, employees who wish to use external mental health clinics and counseling institutions are supported with counseling fees up to 500,000 KRW per person. Face-to-face psychological counseling is especially popular, with waiting lists, and satisfaction levels among participants in other programs are also high.

In particular, the "Gumaljjom (Let's Talk with the Mayor)" program, a candid dialogue time between the mayor and young public officials, is also operated. Without senior officials present, only the mayor and frontline staff gather to directly listen to difficulties and suggestions. From July to October last year, six sessions were held with 60 employees.

Along with this, a safe working environment is being created to protect employees from illegal acts such as verbal abuse and assault by complainants. Last year, portable protective equipment (wearable cameras), recording phones, CCTV, emergency bells, and safety glass were installed in the OK Civil Complaint Center and community service center complaint offices. Twice a year, joint emergency response drills with the police are conducted to prepare for malicious complaints, and safety personnel are hired to work in the OK Civil Complaint Center for complaint office safety.

Also, a dedicated response department providing legal support in case of illegal acts has been designated, and responses are handled through the Legal Support Office. In June last year, the "Ordinance on Protection and Support for Civil Complaint Handling Public Officials" was enacted to provide a legal basis for supporting rest time and space.

Mayor Jeon said, "I hope to continue fostering an organizational culture where 1,600 Seocho colleagues can work excitedly and energetically, and that the happiness of employees will lead directly to the happiness of residents."