The Architecture Department of Dalseong-gun Office in Daegu has launched a reading club called Mokminshim‘Seo’ (牧民心‘署’), composed of architecture department staff, and pledged to practice "flawless competence, unwavering integrity, and unchanging trust." Mokminshim‘Seo’ signifies a department (署) filled with the spirit of "Mokminshim (牧民心)," the mindset that public officials should possess.
Responsible for corruption-prone tasks such as crackdowns on illegal buildings, housing project permits, support for multi-family housing, vacant house maintenance, building demolition, and construction site safety inspections, the Architecture Department has launched Mokminshim‘Seo’ to practice integrity, a core value of public service, in daily life and to lead "aemin" (loving the people) through trusted and professional architectural administration.
Members of the Daegu Dalseong-gun Office Architecture Department staff club 'Mokminsimseo' are gathered together for a commemorative photo.
To this end, the Architecture Department, under the motto "flawless competence, unwavering integrity, unchanging trust," plans to visit and benchmark excellent architectural works at 'Sayuwon' in Bugye-myeon, Gunwi-gun, Daegu, harmonized with nature, in March. They will also discuss ways to improve the quality of architectural administrative services and ensure fair and transparent work processes through work study sessions. In May, they will reinforce their commitment to proactive administration by visiting the vacant house remodeling project ("Monthly Rent 10,000 Won") site in Gangjin-gun, the Dasan Museum, and the Jeong Yak-yong historic sites in Gangjin, while studying Jeong Yak-yong’s life and his thoughts on integrity and loving the people.
In the second half of the year, they plan to visit Busan, which is promoting a large-scale vacant house maintenance project aiming to renovate 2,000 vacant houses by 2030. They will examine projects such as the "Sunshine Nest Project" (which supports remodeling when renting to socially vulnerable groups) and the "Vacant House Bank System" (which promotes transactions by disclosing vacant house information).
Oh Hyeong-seok, head of the Architecture Department of Dalseong-gun, Daegu, emphasized a passage from Mokminshimseo (牧民心書): "Official documents must be logically sound, sincere, earnest, and heartfelt to move people's hearts," and announced that they are preparing to publish "30 Guidelines for Writing Official Documents that Connect with the Residents" in the first half of the year.
Additionally, the Architecture Department staff will read materials such as "More Human Architecture," "Habits of Reading Trends," and "Mokminshimseo" to respond to change and innovation and to become professional "modern-day Cheongbaekri" (upright and incorruptible officials). They will hold monthly discussions on the theme of "Integrity and Trust Based on Expertise" and spend time on "communication that lays down walls and builds open bridges" to resolve intergenerational conflicts and eradicate power harassment within the department.
They also plan to strengthen architectural administration integrity and trust marketing by producing promotional materials related to illegal building prevention and vacant house maintenance, such as pens and pencils with the slogan "Record Transparently" and bookmarks with "Insert Integrity."
Choi Jae-hoon, head of Dalseong-gun, Daegu, stated, "Dasan Jeong Yak-yong said, 'No one can serve as a local magistrate with a mind that is not upright.' Also, Confucius emphasized 'Minmushinbulrip (民無信不立)' in the Analects, meaning 'a people without trust cannot stand.' If we lose the trust of our residents, our county cannot exist. Personally, I believe that trust in public service is the sum of a public official’s expertise and integrity." He emphasized, "We will build the future of Dalseong, trusted by all residents, through better expertise and higher integrity in architectural administration."
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