What Is Mayor Shin Sangjin's Secret to Communication? A Benchmarking Model for Local Governments Nationwide

Sharing Know-how of the "Wish to the Mayor, Baro Text Service" in Seongnam City
Benchmarking by Gwangmyeong, Hwaseong, and Other Local Governments

The "Wish to the Mayor, Baro Text Service" operated by Seongnam City, Gyeonggi Province (Mayor: Shin Sangjin), is gaining attention as a benchmarking case for other local governments.

Seongnam Mayor Shin Sangjin is holding a work mobile phone and explaining the text message service at the New Year's greeting event with citizens. Photo by Seongnam City

Following a visit by the Citizen Communication Office of Gwangmyeong City last year, on August 1, officials from the Administrative Comprehensive Monitoring Office of Hwaseong City visited Seongnam City's Communication Office to share know-how on operating the service.

This visit was arranged because Hwaseong City established a new department in July to strengthen communication with citizens and wanted to refer to Seongnam City's successful example.

An official from Hwaseong City said, "We heard that citizen satisfaction with the Baro Text Service is high, so we wanted to check it out in person."

The Seongnam City Baro Text Service has a distinctive operational structure compared to other local governments. While most municipalities process civil complaints received via QR codes, phone calls, or visits through each department individually, Seongnam City uses a dedicated mayoral mobile phone (010-5920-0184) to centrally receive all complaints. The Communication Office then reviews the responses from relevant departments and delivers the final answer to citizens, operating a unified, comprehensive system. The Communication Office is also responsible for follow-up management.

Citizen participation and the resulting outcomes are also clear.

From the start of the service on September 1, 2022, until now, a total of 56,764 text messages have been received. Of these, 56,065 have been answered, recording a response rate of approximately 98.8%. By category, the architecture and housing sector had the most cases at 19,532, followed by the transportation and roads sector with 16,329 cases.

Recent representative civil complaints handled through the Baro Text Service include the "Relocation of the transformer near Yatap-dong Atera Apartment" and the "Expansion of dog playground operations during the rainy season."

Shin Sangjin, Mayor of Seongnam City, stated, "The Baro Text Service is not just a tool for handling civil complaints, but a symbol of communication created together by citizens and the administration," and added, "We will continue to further increase citizen satisfaction through a systematic and meticulous system."