Seungro Lee, Mayor of Seongbuk-gu Holding a Broom, "Alley Public Sentiment Comes First"

Interview - Lee Seung-ro, Seongbuk District Mayor
The Mayor's Rough Hands... Not Due to Golf or Pull-ups
Six Months a Year Dedicated to Neighborhood Alley Cleanups
Meeting Residents and Addressing On-site Complaints
Achievements Include Road Heating and Forest Library
Committed to Revitalizing the Local Economy

Seungro Lee, Mayor of Seongbuk District, said, "Seongbuk District is a place where residents' autonomous associations are more active than anywhere else, and collaborative governance is well established." Provided by Seongbuk District.

Lee Seung-ro, the re-elected mayor of Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, never misses one thing from his first year in office: cleaning. Seongbuk-gu, with a population of 420,000, consists of twenty neighborhoods. Except for midsummer and midwinter, these twenty neighborhoods conduct thorough alley cleanups three times each in the first and second halves of the year, totaling six times annually. At 7 a.m., Mayor Lee appears holding a broom, inspecting every corner of the alleys while cleaning.

He listens to unexpected on-site complaints from residents while shaking hands, and if any seem reasonable, he immediately passes them on to the relevant departments. He spends about a week each month visiting two or three neighborhoods a day like this. Without the 'tension' and 'stamina' of a 'field mayor,' it would be difficult to handle the diverse and complex demands of residents in these times. Hence, he is often referred to, both self-proclaimed and by others, with the epithet 'field.'

When the reporter who met him for an interview at the Seongbuk-gu office on the 21st said, "You should put on some sunscreen," it was probably because of his sun-tanned skin and the rough texture of his hand felt during the handshake, both signs of his active fieldwork.

Mayor Lee first became a district council member in Seongbuk-gu in 1995, served two terms as a council member, held party positions including deputy secretary-general, served one term as a city council member, and is now serving his second term as mayor. Therefore, his practice and philosophy regarding local autonomy, grassroots politics, and field politics are clear.

He said, "Local politics is grassroots politics, and local politics is essentially field politics," adding, "As the local government closest to residents, it naturally must prioritize the field." He also mentioned, "Since the 7th elected term (2018), 25,800 residents have directly participated in 120 sessions of the on-site mayor's office, submitting 1,730 proposals, which we have been addressing."

Examples of administrative innovation led by the on-site mayor's office include the longest road heating system installed in Seoul (an eco-friendly smart road heating project) and the construction of a forest library within Odong Neighborhood Park using a wood chipping site.

Mayor Lee said, "Seongbuk-gu is one of the most active areas in terms of resident autonomy associations," explaining, "The resident autonomy associations in all 20 neighborhoods directly identify necessary local agendas, and through general meetings, residents themselves decide and implement them, establishing a well-functioning cooperative governance system." Last year alone, out of 566 agendas submitted to the residents' general assembly, 145 were incorporated into the resident autonomy plan by residents' decisions, naturally leading to a high sense of efficacy.

He explained, "This year, the district budget surpassed 1 trillion won (1.0048 trillion won) for the first time, a 58% increase from 634.3 billion won when I first took office in 2018. However, national and city subsidies account for 48% of revenue, and social welfare expenses make up 58% of expenditures, making large-scale fiscal investment projects challenging. Nevertheless, for fiscal investment projects, we focus on balanced development across the district, and in other cases, prioritize projects related to resident safety."

To address the issue of cultural and social welfare facilities being concentrated in only one area within Seongbuk-gu, they have built a modern public senior welfare center, relocated and rebuilt the Gireum Social Welfare Center, established the Seokgwan Jangwi Health Subcenter, and constructed a complex cultural and sports facility in Wolgok-dong, distributing social overhead capital (SOC) evenly across regions.

Master's students in Public Policy from Southern Utah University, school officials, and Lee Seung-ro, Mayor of Seongbuk-gu, visiting the 4th floor Control Center and Disaster Safety Situation Room of Seongbuk-gu Office. Provided by Seongbuk-gu.

To develop the Imun (Seokgwan) vehicle base into the center of the northeastern living area, continuous consultations are underway with the government and Seoul city, and a task force (TF) has been formed with Dongdaemun-gu for discussions. The Imun vehicle base complex development is a 200,000㎡ scale station area development project centered around Seokgye Station, adjacent to Seongbuk-gu as well as Dongdaemun-gu, Nowon-gu, and Jungnang-gu.

Mayor Lee said, "Once the basic survey is completed through the ongoing city development planning service, the development types and commercialization strategies will become more concrete," adding, "The undergrounding plan for the Gyeongwon Line announced earlier this year will be linked, accelerating the project." He also stated, "As part of Seongbuk-gu's key area development, we will actively propose innovative development plans to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and Seoul city, and coordinate with neighboring districts to make it a model for innovative regional development."

Mayor Lee pledged to diligently push forward urban development projects such as redevelopment and reconstruction projects, the Dongbuk Line light rail, and the internal circulation Wolgok downward ramp, while revitalizing the local economy in the latter half of his term. He explained, "There are 125 redevelopment and reconstruction maintenance projects underway in Seongbuk-gu," and added, "The early establishment of the Urban Maintenance Rapid Promotion Team to systematically advance these projects is also why many maintenance projects are actively progressing compared to other districts."

He also vowed not to neglect efforts to revitalize the local economy through the issuance of Seongbuk Love Gift Certificates and to reflect the voices of young people in district policy decisions.