Mayor Seo Gangseok Successfully Concludes "Conversations with Residents" in All 27 Neighborhoods
Listening and Communicating on Local Issues and Everyday Concerns
Songpa-gu, Seoul (Mayor Seo Gangseok) announced that it had successfully concluded the "2025 Songpa-gu On-site Toktok Hanmadang," a communication event with residents, and has begun addressing residents' suggestions and difficulties.
Mayor Seo Gangseok of Songpa-gu visited all 27 neighborhoods, starting with Samjeon-dong in early February and ending with Jamsil 4-dong in early April, meeting directly with approximately 5,300 residents to engage in communication.
At these events, Mayor Seo first shared the main directions of the district's administration with residents. He drew attention by presenting the vision of "a premium city that serves its residents as its owners," explaining the budget of 1.2394 trillion won, and introducing key district projects such as the "Songpadaero Walkable Street Garden Project."
Following this, Mayor Seo continued close communication with the residents. All conversations were led personally by Mayor Seo Gangseok without a professional facilitator. The talk show format broke away from formal and conventional communication styles, creating a relaxed atmosphere in which even minor civil complaints were heard, allowing for sincere dialogue.
In particular, residents responded enthusiastically to Mayor Seo's honest and immediate answers. Instead of vague responses such as "we will look into it," he provided immediate solutions where possible, and for matters requiring more time and research, he asked for residents' understanding and focused on communication.
A total of 393 suggestions from residents were collected through on-site conversations and written submissions. In particular, various opinions were raised, including: the progress of the Songpadaero Premium Street Project; prompt advancement of redevelopment and reconstruction projects; changes to Songpa-gu village bus routes; expanded support for senior centers; creation of barefoot walking paths; establishment and maintenance of children's parks; expansion of libraries and other cultural and sports facilities; improvement of the transportation system; and road maintenance, covering both regional issues and everyday civil complaints.
Of these, a total of 315 suggestions have been resolved so far, including 283 that were promised and immediately addressed on-site. The implementation rate stands at 80.2%.
Representative cases that were handled immediately include improvements to community center inconveniences, cleaning and replacement of benches in the alleyways between apartments in Geoyeo-dong, creation of a barefoot walking path in Garak Neighborhood Park, and maintenance of the barefoot red clay path at Seokchon Lake. Matters requiring cooperation from other agencies such as the Seoul Metropolitan Government, LH, and SH were promptly relayed to the relevant organizations for resolution. The remaining 78 cases are being pursued with the goal of completion within the first half of the year.
Mayor Seo emphasized, "All suggestions are immediately forwarded to the relevant departments, and we are processing them quickly and accurately to provide the necessary administrative services or support. We will continue to pay close attention to the results of handling these suggestions."
In addition, the district continues to communicate with residents through a direct phone line with the mayor via text message and the "Suggestions to the Mayor" section on the district office website.
Mayor Seo Gangseok stated, "Service-oriented administration for residents begins not only with large-scale development projects, but also with addressing the small, practical aspects of daily life. We will continue to listen to residents' voices in various ways and practice Songpa-gu's 'service-oriented administration,' always prioritizing the convenience and well-being of our residents."
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