Why Has the Yongsan District Administration Research Team Fully Launched Customized District Administration Research?

Conducting Survey on 'Priority Policy Projects' to Discover New Year Research Tasks... District Mayor Seong Janghyun: "We Will Create Policies That Truly Help Residents"

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Yongsan-gu (Mayor Seong Jang-hyun) is intensifying customized district administration research centered on the task force (TF) organization ‘District Administration Research Team’.

The district recently conducted an online and offline survey targeting 1,700 residents and public officials. They compiled a list of 46 projects across 8 policy areas that should be prioritized by the district, gathering opinions. This was to discover research topics for the 2020 District Administration Research Team.

The survey results showed that the priority project area was local economy (21%). This was followed by urban infrastructure (16%), culture and tourism (13%), education (12%), social welfare (11%), health care (11%), safety (11%), and administration (5%).

Specifically, in the local economy sector, ‘Revitalization of the local economy following the relocation of the US military base’ (22.4%) was identified as the most urgent task. ‘Creation of quality jobs through customized job matching’ (17.4%) was also selected as a major task.

In the urban infrastructure sector, ‘Maintenance and management of residential environment’ (35.9%) ranked overwhelmingly first. ‘Expansion of urban regeneration’ (23.6%) and ‘Strengthening park and green space infrastructure’ (18.8%) also attracted significant interest.

In the culture and tourism sector, voices were strong regarding ‘Establishment of cultural and tourism infrastructure’ (33.3%). ‘Development of content such as exhibitions, performances, and events’ (27%) followed.

A district official said, “Through this survey, we were able to roughly confirm residents’ demands regarding district administration,” adding, “We will select district administration research topics focusing on residents’ interests such as strengthening lifelong education and vocational training, and enhancing elderly welfare in preparation for aging.”

The district will hold a research topic selection committee within this month and continue research on new topics. For each topic, kickoff, interim, and final reporting sessions will be held, and research results will be published in booklets to be shared with district employees and residents.

The District Administration Research Team was first formed in May last year as a TF under the district’s Planning and Budget Office. It consists of six members: one team leader, one general staff member, two fixed-term part-time workers, and two personnel dispatched from the Seoul Institute. Sixty-six percent (4 members) hold doctoral degrees, making it the most academically qualified team within the district office.

The District Administration Research Team’s roles include ▲discovering tasks for efficient implementation of major district policies and current projects ▲establishing an organic research system with Seoul City and the Seoul Institute ▲providing consultation on major current policy tasks requested by departments.

Research topics completed or currently underway include ‘Measures to Revitalize Youth Policy,’ ‘Efficient Support Measures for Welfare Resources,’ ‘Activation Measures for Integrated Operation of Yongsan Welfare Foundation and Kkum Namu Scholarship Fund,’ and ‘Measures to Revitalize Street Housing Maintenance Projects.’

The ‘Study on the Direction of Large-scale Development Projects Centered on Yongsan Park’ is also scheduled to be completed around May.

Seong Jang-hyun, Mayor of Yongsan-gu, said, “Proper research must precede proper policy implementation,” adding, “We will select research topics that reflect reality and continuously create policies that can truly help residents.”

Planning and Budget Office (☎2199-6466)

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.