Did Seocho-gu's COVID-19 Administration Reach Out Even to Paris, France?

Seo Eun-hee, Mayor of Seocho District, to Hold Video Call with Sister City Paris 15th Arrondissement for About 1 Hour from 5 PM on the 10th... Initiated at Paris 15th's Request to Share COVID-19 Response Strategies... Sharing Seocho's COVID-19 Administration, a Pioneer and Standard Setter through Swift Proactive Measures

Video call between Jo Eun-hee, Seocho District Mayor, and Philip Gujong, District Mayor

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] The number of deaths worldwide due to COVID-19 has surpassed 100,000. France has reported over 110,000 confirmed cases and more than 10,000 deaths, ranking fourth in the world for the number of patients.

As world leaders seek to learn from South Korea's exemplary COVID-19 response, requests for phone calls to the President have been pouring in. However, this is the first time such a request has been made directly to a local government at the forefront of quarantine efforts.

Seocho-gu (District Mayor Cho Eun-hee) announced on the 10th that it held a video call to share COVID-19 response strategies with its sister city, the 15th arrondissement of Paris, France (District Mayor Philippe Goujon).

This video call was arranged following a request from the 15th arrondissement of Paris, with which Seocho-gu signed an MOU in 2016, on the 7th to share Seocho-gu’s swift COVID-19 administrative response.

During the approximately one-hour video call starting at 5 p.m., Philippe Goujon, mayor of the 15th arrondissement, said, “South Korea’s COVID-19 response is becoming a global model, and we especially hope to learn from Seocho-gu’s know-how in handling COVID-19,” adding, “I am curious about what preparations Seocho-gu made first to respond to COVID-19.”

In response, Seocho-gu Mayor Cho Eun-hee said, “We judged that prevention and blocking the spread of the infectious disease COVID-19 were most important, so we focused on mask supply and disclosure of confirmed patients’ movement paths.” She explained, “Despite the government’s implementation of the public mask 5-day rotation system to address confusion caused by mask supply instability, public anxiety was not resolved. Therefore, Seocho-gu pre-supplied masks secured independently to pharmacies and unified sales hours to alleviate residents’ confusion. We also directly distributed masks free of charge to vulnerable groups such as the elderly, pregnant women, and infants, thereby solving the mask supply issue.”

She added, “To protect residents’ safety, when confirmed cases occur, we thoroughly investigate CCTV footage and credit card usage details, transparently and accurately disclose confirmed patients’ movement paths on the district website, and send text messages to residents’ mobile phones. This has now become a standard model for other local governments.”

Furthermore, she emphasized, “Since the first confirmed case from overseas contact on March 13, we have been conducting the nation’s first comprehensive COVID-19 testing for all residents (including foreigners) who entered the district. We are mobilizing all administrative power to block community transmission through unannounced inspections to prevent unauthorized departures from self-quarantine, installation of self-quarantine apps, and a second test before quarantine release.”

This swift comprehensive testing of entrants by the district is now being implemented not only by Seoul but also by the national government.

Mayor Philippe Goujon said, “Currently, all operations in Paris, including the 15th arrondissement, are paralyzed,” and expressed curiosity about how Seocho-gu is operating without a shutdown.

In response, Mayor Cho said, “To minimize face-to-face contact, we introduced the flexible work ‘Triple 5-day rotation system’ on March 16, the first among local governments. This includes a 5-day rotation for working from home by day, staggered commuting times, and staggered lunch breaks. Various meetings have been replaced with non-face-to-face video conferences, allowing us to carry out essential duties as the frontline of quarantine without disruption.”

Following this, Mayor Philippe Goujon asked what support Seocho-gu is providing to small business owners facing difficulties due to COVID-19.

Mayor Cho replied, “In accordance with social distancing, we were the first in the nation to provide support payments to multi-use facilities such as karaoke rooms and PC rooms that voluntarily closed, which later encouraged other local governments to join. Additionally, we offer various economic supports such as expanding small business development funds and special credit guarantees, and extending local tax payment deadlines.”

Mayor Cho also introduced Seocho-gu’s swift COVID-19 administration, including various non-face-to-face online programs following the extension of social distancing, the Seocho Quarantine Team created through residents’ voluntary participation, and the application of antibacterial films on all residential buildings.

Mayor Philippe Goujon said, “Seocho-gu appears to be demonstrating strong leadership and responding swiftly to the COVID-19 crisis,” and expressed deep gratitude for the interesting and diverse sharing of Seocho’s COVID-19 administration, adding, “I hope we can continue to cooperate in various fields.”

Mayor Cho Eun-hee responded, “I hope that through video calls and other exchanges, we can develop and serve as a strong bridge between our two countries.”

◇ Exchange Status between Seocho-gu and the 15th Arrondissement of Paris

Since signing the 'MOU for Friendly Relations and Exchange Development' in 2016, Seocho-gu has continued exchanges in various fields, including dispatching a Samulnori (traditional Korean percussion) group to the Korean Festival held in France.

Many French nationals reside in Seorae Village in Seocho-gu. The Seorae Global Village Center located in Seorae Village promotes disaster response and COVID-19 related news, guidance, and support to foreigners living in Korea, including French nationals, through SNS promotions and mobile text messages, in cooperation with Seoul City, the French Embassy, and related institutions, providing information equivalent to that given to Korean citizens.

In May 2019, the 15th arrondissement of Paris (Mayor Philippe Goujon) planted birch trees brought from France in the ‘15th Arrondissement Park’ located in Seorae Village, Seocho-gu, to commemorate the friendship between the two cities. Five French university students who accompanied the delegation had the opportunity to experience Korean culture and learn Korean through the ‘Seocho Study’ program.

In February of this year, Seocho-gu university students visited the 15th arrondissement of Paris and had the opportunity to experience French culture through the French Study Program (15e arrondissement de Paris Study), which received great enthusiasm from residents.

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