[Interview] Park Junhee, Gwanak District Mayor: "The National Economy Thrives When Local Markets Thrive"

80 Billion Invested in Sillim Station Area for 'Byeolbit Sinsari Commercial Renaissance' Project...Focus on Gentrification Prevention Including Win-Win Agreement...Rapid Supplementary Budget Planning for COVID-19 Measures

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] “Just as the tiny blood vessels in our body supply blood to every corner, creating a healthy body, vibrant local commercial districts will strengthen the regional economy and revive the national economy.”

Park Jun-hee, Mayor of Gwanak District, stated in an interview with Asia Economy, “Recently, due to COVID-19, the worries of small business owners have increased and the wrinkles in the regional economy have deepened, so we will put more effort into revitalizing the local economy.”

Mayor Park, the only Seoul district mayor to proclaim himself an ‘Economic Mayor,’ has prioritized regional economic revitalization since the beginning of his term, implementing various policies centered on four pillars: innovative economy, cooperative economy, social economy, and youth economy.

In particular, since most businesses in Gwanak District are small-scale with fewer than 10 employees (94.5%), the cooperative economy working with small business owners, the backbone of the local economy, is one of the key pledges of the 7th local government term. Mayor Park expressed strong determination, saying, “Even before becoming mayor, I continuously heard voices from the field asking to revive struggling local commercial districts, so I am willing to do anything that can help small business owners even a little.”

The district, led by the newly established Local Commercial District Revitalization Division in the 7th local government term, is promoting 30 detailed projects in three major areas: ▲ revitalization of local commercial districts ▲ infrastructure expansion ▲ job creation, with cooperation from all departments.

First, to ease the financial management of small business owners, the support scale of the Small and Medium Business Development Fund was expanded by a whopping 1 billion KRW from 1.5 billion KRW in the first half of 2018 to 2.5 billion KRW this year, and the loan interest rate was lowered from 1.8% per annum to 1.5%. Additionally, in partnership with Woori Bank and the Seoul Credit Guarantee Foundation, the credit guarantee scale for small merchants was significantly increased from 3 billion KRW in 2018 to 14.5 billion KRW this year.

The district was selected for the government’s flagship economic revival project, the ‘Starlight Sinsari Commercial District Renaissance’ project, and will begin full-scale implementation this year. Over five years, 8 billion KRW will be invested in the area around Sillim Station (totaling 61,906㎡), which includes Sundae Town, Shinwon Market, Gwanak General Market, and Seowon-dong shopping street, aiming to revive it as a representative commercial district of Seoul.

The plan includes developing representative content for the commercial district, installing symbolic structures, and creating themed alleyways to cultivate it into a distinctive landmark. Various programs will also be operated to enhance the competitiveness of small business owners by developing specialized products and recipes.

Notably, this area embraces Dorimcheon Stream, where a Starlight Bridge and waterside stage will be constructed, and a Starlight Festival will be held with residents, transforming it into a cultural space that coexists with nature.

Mayor Park said, “Last year, we were selected for the Ministry of SMEs and Startups’ Commercial District Renaissance contest, receiving 4 billion KRW in national funds and 2.4 billion KRW in city funds,” adding, “We are promoting a Dorimcheon specialized project to develop Dorimcheon into a cultural tourism attraction full of sights and activities. These two projects will create synergy, giving a strong boost to commercial district revitalization.”

Furthermore, based on the research service results to be completed next month, the district plans to create three specialized streets. In the first half of this year, merchant organizations will be formed and various facilities and surrounding environments improved to lay the foundation. From the second half, streets with distinctive characteristics will be developed to induce self-sustainability of local commercial districts.

Alongside this, the district is also focusing on preventing gentrification, a side effect of commercial district revitalization, including in the rapidly emerging hot spot Sharosugil. In November 2018, an agreement was signed with the Gwanak District branch of the Korea Association of Realtors, and in September last year, an ordinance was enacted to promote cooperative efforts in the local commercial district, establishing an institutional foundation. This year, the district plans to actively initiate a cooperative agreement among landlords, tenants, and Gwanak District to maintain reasonable rents.

Additionally, to support neighborhood supermarkets, the sales commission for volume-based waste bags was increased by 3%, resulting in an annual profit increase of about 230 million KRW. The district is also making multifaceted efforts to improve sales by enhancing resident convenience, such as issuing Gwanak Love Gift Certificates (worth 10 billion KRW), improving traditional market environments, and relaxing parking enforcement.

Regarding the recent economic downturn caused by COVID-19, Mayor Park explained, “Both residents’ safety and health and economic revitalization, which is about livelihood, are tasks that cannot be abandoned.” He added, “The mayor and staff will take the lead in continuously using restaurants visited by confirmed cases, and will promptly prepare a supplementary budget focusing on COVID-19 measures and local economic revitalization projects.”

Mayor Park Jun-hee said, “Revitalizing the local economy is a task that is difficult to achieve results in a short period, but I will steadfastly implement policies that allow small business owners to smile brightly without being obsessed with short-term achievements during my term.”

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