Pocheon City Accelerates Efforts to Directly Manage City Hall Cafeteria

Reflecting Municipal Values in Employee Meals

Pocheon City, Gyeonggi Province (Mayor Baek Young-hyun) announced on the 9th that it has officially begun the procedures to directly manage the city hall cafeteria starting in April.

Pocheon City Hall exterior. Provided by Pocheon City

As the contract with the existing private company expires on March 31, Pocheon City decided to switch to direct management to provide employees with nutritious and high-quality meals and to strengthen employee welfare based on stable meal service operations.

Accordingly, the city has completed the hiring of a nutritionist who will be responsible for the overall operation of the cafeteria and is making thorough preparations by establishing an implementation plan for the transition to direct management.

The city plans to prioritize purchasing ingredients used in the cafeteria from local agricultural products and hire cooking staff residing within the region to maximize regional economic revitalization and job creation.

Pocheon City’s careful consideration for coexistence with the local commercial district is evident, not only for employee welfare but also for mutual growth. Approximately 1,000 employees work at the main city hall and nearby annex buildings.

Concerned that many employees using the directly managed cafeteria might negatively impact nearby merchants’ sales, the city plans to maintain the cafeteria meal price at the existing 6,000 won. Additionally, regular closing days will be increased from twice a month to four times a month to minimize the reduction in sales for local merchants.

However, it should be noted that once the cafeteria is directly managed, it will be registered as a collective catering facility under the Food Sanitation Act, meaning that only employees can use it and outsiders will not be allowed access.

Mayor Baek Young-hyun of Pocheon said, “Welfare for employees is also welfare for citizens. Good meals become the power to provide administrative services that satisfy citizens.” He added, “Although this is a single action of transitioning the cafeteria to direct management, we will do our best to embody both employee welfare and regional coexistence values within this policy.”