Minho Choi: "Public Officials Must Discover Future-Oriented Policies Even in Financial Hardship"

At the Expanded Executive Meeting on the 28th,
Mayor Choi Urges "Passion and Sense of Duty"

Minho Choi, Mayor of Sejong City, is presiding over an expanded executive meeting on the 28th. Photo by Planning and Coordination Office Policy Planning Division

Minho Choi, Mayor of Sejong City, emphasized that even though the current financial situation is challenging, it is not an excuse to neglect preparations for the future. He urged all city hall employees to make efforts to discover new policy initiatives for the coming year.

During the expanded executive meeting held on the 28th, Mayor Choi stated, "This year's Sejong Hangeul Festival achieved great success and showed significant progress despite a limited budget," adding, "This serves as a lesson that strong results can be achieved through the passion, dedication, and sense of duty of public officials."

He further stressed, "Even when financial conditions are tight, public officials must prepare for the future," and called for thorough preparation of the presentation session to discover new policy projects during the process of establishing next year's major work plans.

He asserted, "Employees who are willing to take on challenges even without a budget are the ones qualified to take responsibility for the future of city administration," and emphasized that "employees who deeply consider the long-term vision for city governance should be able to stand out."

He pointed out that, while the degree may vary, budget shortages are a nationwide issue, and especially in such times, he called on public officials to do their best in their work with passion, dedication, and a sense of duty.

He also requested that, in relation to the Artificial Intelligence Transformation (AX) Committee inauguration ceremony scheduled for November 6, careful consideration be given to how Sejong's key industries-quantum technology and artificial intelligence-can be integrated and developed together.

Mayor Choi remarked, "Artificial intelligence and quantum computers are both new and innovative technologies, but they are similar in that their substance is not yet clearly defined," and stressed, "Smart City Sejong must establish a system that enables convergence and integration in these two fields."

Additionally, regarding the 11th Our Agricultural Products Kimchi-Making event to be held on November 8, he asked that ways be considered to develop it into a festival where pork and fruit are sold and kimchi ingredients can be conveniently purchased. He also noted that, with temperatures dropping sharply at the end of this month, there are concerns about seasonal illnesses among the elderly and other vulnerable groups, and he called for special and attentive management, including flu vaccinations for these groups.