[This Person] Jung Won-oh, Seongdong-gu Mayor, Receives 'UN Public Administration Award' and Shares the Story Behind His Big Smile?

Jung District Mayor Receives Top National Awards Including Presidential Award for Government Innovation and Civil Service Evaluation, Wins UN Public Administration Award Known as the 'Nobel Prize of Public Administration' and Smiles Broadly

Jung Won-oh, Mayor of Seongdong-gu, is giving a presentation at the Hyo Sarang Primary Care Physician Launch Ceremony.

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Jung Won-oh, the mayor of Seongdong-gu, is these days wearing a ‘broad smile.’

In January this year, the basic local government won the Presidential Award for the second consecutive year in the ‘2019 Government Innovation Evaluation’ hosted by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, and in March, it won the Presidential Award in the ‘2019 Comprehensive Civil Service Evaluation,’ setting a record of receiving the Presidential Award twice in one year.

But this time, it received the ‘UN Public Administration Award,’ known as the ‘Nobel Prize of Public Administration.’ In particular, this award is a special prize given to only one country per continent among the world’s five continents, and it is also the first international award received since Park Won-soon took office as the mayor of Seoul.

Because of this, it was recognized that the administrative level of local governments in the Republic of Korea has become world-leading.

The reason for receiving this UN Public Administration Award is the ‘Hyo Sarang Health Primary Care Physician Project’ created and recognized by Jung Won-oh, the mayor of Seongdong-gu.

Seongdong-gu applied for the contest in November last year, and the Hyo Sarang Health Primary Care Physician (HYO Policy) project was selected as an excellent policy representing the world in the Asia-Pacific region in the field of ‘inclusive and equitable service delivery.’

The Hyo Sarang Health Primary Care Physician project is a proactive medical welfare service in which doctors and nurses visit the homes of elderly people aged 75 or older who have difficulty managing their own health to provide health care, and through public-private cooperation, support disease management, dementia and depression evaluation, medical expenses, and more.

In Seongdong-gu, the service is provided to 6,983 elderly people aged 75 or older (37%), and 95% of participants show high satisfaction.

Mayor Jung focused on the occurrence of medical blind spots for elderly people aged 75 or older due to the increase in complex chronic diseases caused by population aging and the burden of elderly medical expenses, and to provide customized public medical services, he installed Health Connection Centers in 17 neighborhood community centers and introduced the nation’s first Hyo Sarang Primary Care Physician system in September 2017.

Since 2019, the project has expanded and operated ‘post-discharge patient management’ by signing business agreements with local medical institutions such as Hanyang University Hospital.

Recently, for elderly people living alone, it has been accelerating the implementation of ‘Smart Health Care Service’ for 24-hour care by distributing AI speakers and motion-recognition smart sensors using the Internet of Things (IoT) to prevent loneliness in their daily lives.

Upon receiving the news of this award, Mayor Jung Won-oh said, “It is an honor that Seongdong-gu’s policy has been introduced as a benchmark worldwide. I am very pleased and proud that our administrative capabilities have been internationally recognized.”

Last month, Mayor Jung surprised not only the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency but also local governments nationwide by introducing the nation’s first ‘mobile electronic log system’ for crowded places such as karaoke rooms.

This is the introduction of a non-contact visitor management system using IT technology for the first time in the nation in crowded places with a high risk of group infection, such as karaoke rooms, PC rooms, and sports facilities.

Seongdong-gu is currently using this system for people visiting public offices such as the district office building, receiving praise from users.

Prior to this, Mayor Jung was the first to promote smart city projects, providing convenience across all aspects of life including safety, urban transportation, and energy.

Also, during the 6th local government term, he created Seongdong Safe Shopping District, the nation’s first public safe shopping district to prevent gentrification, causing a stir.

Jung Won-oh, the district mayor, is visiting the Seoul City press room to give a briefing on the Hyosarang Primary Care Physician project.

The reason Mayor Jung can implement such advanced policies is interpreted as his special affection and understanding of the region, having served as an aide to former Presidential Chief of Staff Lim Jong-seok for eight years during Lim’s tenure as a member of the National Assembly representing Seongdong-gu.

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