Yongsan-gu Appoints Professor Choi Seong-ho as Chief Public Designer

First Autonomous District Case
Aiming to Create a Universal Design City

Yongsan-gu, Seoul (District Mayor Park Hee-young) announced on the 10th that it appointed Professor Choi Seong-ho of the Department of Architectural Space Design at Hanyang Cyber University as the first General Public Designer on the 7th. Yongsan-gu is the first autonomous district in Seoul to introduce the position of General Public Designer.

General Public Designer Choi Seong-ho will oversee the overall planning and coordination of Yongsan-gu’s public design policies and projects, helping to realize the district’s vision of creating a universal design city.

Park Hee-young, Mayor of Yongsan District (right), and Choi Seong-ho, the first General Public Designer of Yongsan District, who received the appointment certificate on the 7th, are posing for a commemorative photo. Provided by Yongsan District.

Since 2003, General Public Designer Choi has been serving as a professor at Hanyang Cyber University and has actively contributed to the development of public design as the chairman of the Seoul Public Design Promotion Committee and president of the Korea Public Design Association. He was finally selected as the district’s General Public Designer through a public recruitment process in January.

The universal design city initiative is a policy aimed at respecting socially vulnerable groups such as the elderly and children, and responding to social changes like aging and the increase of multicultural families by creating an environment where everyone can live without discrimination. To efficiently implement this policy, the district reorganized its structure in January this year by establishing a Universal Design Team within the Architecture Division.

Yongsan is facing large-scale changes such as the development of the international business district and the underground relocation of the Gyeongwon and Gyeongbu railway lines. The General Public Designer will perform duties including ▲ overall coordination and guideline establishment for urban development and design-related projects ▲ advising on the establishment of basic directions for universal design and the discovery and planning of public design policies and projects ▲ participating in the establishment and operation of public design project management systems ▲ supporting information exchange and education related to public design ▲ planning and supporting exhibitions and events related to the promotion of public design.

At the end of last year, the district established the basic direction for creating a universal design city and plans to implement five related projects this year, including the introduction of the General Public Designer system to expand the base of universal design and improve the environment. Detailed projects include developing guidelines for creating a universal design urban environment, public design education, improving the universal design environment of the district’s integrated government building, and leading universal design pilot projects.

District Mayor Park Hee-young stated, “The district aims to actively introduce universal design throughout the urban environment so that more people can enjoy a warm and inclusive urban life, transforming Yongsan into a mutually prosperous city.” He added, “The appointment of the General Public Designer is expected to greatly contribute to improving the quality of life for residents and enhancing the district’s competitiveness as an international city.”