Songpa-gu Takes the Lead in 'Illegal Advertisement Cleanup'

Addition of 40 Designated Banner Posting Stands, 365-Day Enforcement Team, and Collection Reward System

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] Songpa-gu (Mayor Park Seong-su) has established and is implementing a ‘Comprehensive Advertising Maintenance Plan’ to create a safe and pleasant living environment.

Randomly posted banners and old, worn-out signs on the streets not only threaten residents’ pedestrian and traffic safety but also detract from the city’s aesthetics.

Songpa-gu has been cracking down on and maintaining ▲‘mobile advertisements’ such as illegal banners, posters, sandwich boards, balloon signs (air lights), and flyers, and ▲‘fixed advertisements’ such as wall signs, projecting signs, and rooftop signs.

Despite the district’s continuous efforts, the number of illegal advertisement maintenance cases has been increasing every year.

According to the district, the number of illegal advertisement maintenance cases increased from 1.31 million in 2018 to 1.82 million in 2019.

Accordingly, Songpa-gu has established a ‘Comprehensive Advertising Maintenance Plan’ to implement sustainable and strengthened measures.

First, this year, the district will operate a ‘365-day Illegal Advertisement Crackdown Task Force.’ The task force, composed of 10 members, will monitor illegal advertisements in the area regardless of weekdays, weekends, or holidays. They will directly remove illegal ads or guide advertisers to take them down, and impose fines or enforcement charges as strong measures.

The district plans to maintain continuous maintenance and crackdown systems throughout the year.

The task force will also strengthen crackdowns on illegal advertisements in popular restaurant alleys around Garakbon-dong, Bangi-dong, and Jamsilbon-dong. Considering the characteristics of commercial districts that become active after sunset, large balloon signs, excessively bright signs, and sexually suggestive harmful business cards will be intensively monitored through a public-private joint effort.

Efforts to prevent attempts to post illegal advertisements will continue. Last year, the district applied special coatings or attached sheets to 636 public facilities such as streetlights, traffic lights, and utility poles to block advertisement postings. The district plans to continuously monitor and expand this to areas with frequent complaints.

Additionally, the district operates ‘designated banner posting stands’ to prevent indiscriminate postings and improve urban aesthetics. Through applications, administrative promotional banners and general commercial banners can be posted at designated locations. Currently, 25 such locations are operated throughout the district, with plans to add 40 more this year.

Furthermore, starting in March, a ‘collection reward system’ will be operated to encourage residents to participate in reducing illegal advertisements. Residents aged 60 and over and low-income residents who collect illegal advertisements and bring them to the material warehouse located in Ogeum-dong will receive compensation. For posters, 30,000 KRW per collection per person (up to 120,000 KRW per month) will be paid, and for banners, up to 2,000 KRW per piece (up to 3 million KRW per month) will be compensated.

Efforts to establish the ‘One Business, One Sign’ policy will also continue. Illegal signs without permits or reports and signs with high risk of falling will be targeted for voluntary maintenance and removal by owners.

Park Seong-su, Mayor of Songpa-gu, stated, “A safe and pleasant living environment plays an important role in improving quality of life. We will continue to enhance the city’s image through systematic advertisement maintenance to create ‘a livable city, Songpa.’”

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