Jongno-gu, Meal Payment and Solicitation Prevention with 'Cheongnyeom Meal Voucher Activation'

Allow Input and Output on Employee Personal PCs
Eradicate Power Abuse and Provide Integrity Education to Foster a Clean Public Service Culture

At the 'Integrity Training' for team leaders held last September, Gu Munheon, the district mayor, urged, "Please join us in creating an honest organizational culture." Provided by Jongno-gu.

Jongno-gu, Seoul (District Mayor Jeong Munheon) announced on the 3rd that it has introduced an electronic management program for integrity meal vouchers since last month to foster a fair and transparent public service culture.

The integrity meal voucher system allows officials in charge to use the district office cafeteria with meal vouchers supported by the Audit Officer when accompanying business stakeholders for lunch to facilitate smooth business consultations. This system has been in operation since May 2012 to fundamentally prevent meal cost payments and solicitations.

However, until now, users had to visit the Audit Officer's office in person to receive meal vouchers and fill out a ledger, which was cumbersome. Additionally, usage rates declined after COVID-19. Therefore, the district has prepared improvements this time.

The newly introduced electronic management program allows business departments to enter the purpose and quantity of integrity meal voucher use on personal PCs and print them out, greatly simplifying the application and issuance procedures. The printed vouchers display the usage date, applying department, and applicant information to enable transparent voucher use and settlement.

With the rise in dining prices, Jongno-gu’s district office cafeteria has gained a reputation as a so-called “cost-effective gourmet spot” among office workers in Gwanghwamun, and the district expects to provide satisfying and integrity-based meals to business stakeholders.

Meanwhile, Jongno-gu plans to conduct training to eradicate power harassment for team leaders in July and August, and integrity training for executives at grade 5 and above in August and September to deeply embed a culture of integrity in daily life.

In addition, to establish a sound and transparent reporting culture, the district operates the “Jongno Cheongnyeomgo,” an anonymous reporting system for employee corruption and power harassment. The name “Jongno Cheongnyeomgo” is a compound of “Cheongnyeom” (integrity) and “Sinmungo” (petition box), carrying the double meaning of “the path to integrity.” Anyone, including district officials, residents, and employees, can report bribery, solicitation, embezzlement of public funds, and more.

District Mayor Jeong Munheon stated, “We will continuously devise effective policies to realize integrity, which is considered the foremost virtue of public officials, and strive to lead a culture of integrity.”