Jung Won-oh, Seongdong District Mayor, Showcases 'Effective District Mayor' Image with Essential Worker Policies and More

Within a Month of Enacting the Nation's First Essential Workers Support Ordinance, a Government-wide T/F Formed... After Introducing the Nation's First 'Seongdong-type Mobile Electronic Log' for COVID-19 Response, Expanded Nationwide... Led the 'Welfare Grand Bargain' with 226 Local Governments for Over a Year, Showing 'Effective Local Leadership' with Achievements like Joint Admission Support Fund (300,000 KRW) from Seoul City, Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, and 25 Districts Starting Next Year, Gaining Attention

Jung Won-oh, Mayor of Seongdong-gu (second from the right), is guiding Lee Nak-yeon, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, on a field visit related to essential workers. To the right of Mayor Jung is Kim Young-bae, a member of the National Assembly and chief political secretary to Lee Nak-yeon, who previously served two terms as Mayor of Seongbuk-gu.

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Jung Won-oh, the mayor of Seongdong-gu, is making headlines by continuously introducing nationwide policies and conveying the voices of local governments to the central government, thereby redefining the status of 'local governments.'

The most recent example is the ‘Essential Workers Support Policy.’ As COVID-19 prolonged, Seongdong-gu was the first to focus on essential workers, a concept that was previously unfamiliar in Korea, enacting a support ordinance last September and forming an intergovernmental task force (T/F) within just over a month.

Since the ordinance was enacted, Mayor Jung Won-oh has raised awareness about the roles and importance of essential workers and has led policy forums with various organizations, including metropolitan and central governments, to spread social issues.

Starting with Seongdong-gu’s policy, campaigns expressing respect and gratitude toward essential workers are underway, and legislative discussions have begun in the National Assembly.

◇President Moon Jae-in Emphasizes Essential Workers Support Measures at Cabinet Meeting...Intergovernmental Task Force (TF) Launched

In particular, after President Moon Jae-in emphasized the need for support measures for essential workers at the cabinet meeting on September 22, an intergovernmental task force (TF) was launched on October 6 to improve the working conditions of essential workers. Eleven ministries, including the Ministry of Economy and Finance, Ministry of Employment and Labor, Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, and Ministry of Health and Welfare, participated to devise measures to ensure the safety and improve the working conditions of ‘essential workers.’

Additionally, on the morning of October 8, President Moon appeared at the ‘Social Service Workers Encouragement Video Meeting’ held at the Seongdong Comprehensive Home Care Center, stating, “Seongdong-gu is setting an example by enacting an ordinance to support essential workers,” and urged other local governments to join in.

Mayor Jung Won-oh expressed on his personal SNS, “I am pleased that the previously unfamiliar concept of ‘essential workers’ is now properly recognized and receiving deep attention,” adding, “I feel reassured that Seongdong-gu’s humble and insufficient beginning will continue more powerfully,” and pledged to carry out essential worker support policies without fail.

Seongdong-gu is currently continuing support such as distributing masks and hand sanitizers and providing free flu vaccinations for essential workers. On November 6, it began a research project on ‘Survey of Essential Workers and Establishment of Support Policies’ in collaboration with Chung-Ang University Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation. The results are expected in January next year, which will serve as the basis for establishing full-scale support plans.

◇Seongdong-gu Develops Mobile Electronic Entry Log...Spreads Nationwide

Alongside this, Seongdong-gu introduced a leading policy in COVID-19 response nationwide: the now commonplace ‘mobile electronic entry log.’ After experiencing the COVID-19 crisis triggered by the Itaewon clubs in May, Seongdong-gu proposed a solution to eradicate false entry logs. It developed the nation’s first electronic entry log system integrating IT technologies such as NFC (Near Field Communication) and QR codes.

This is the result of continuous consideration and research on ‘appropriate technology’ to solve various social problems with smart technology, following Mayor Jung Won-oh’s successful re-election in the 7th local government term and setting Seongdong-gu’s vision as a ‘Smart Inclusive City.’

Although there were concerns about personal information protection after the initial introduction, the policy was boldly implemented after a pilot operation period that included gathering residents’ opinions. The ‘electronic entry log’ first introduced by the district on May 15 was mandated nationwide starting June 10. It now plays a significant role in epidemiological investigations by quickly identifying visitors to places where confirmed cases have been present.

In addition, through the Smart Inclusive City project, the district continues to discover and introduce pioneering policies such as the ‘Seongdong-style Smart Crosswalk’ and ‘Smart Shelter.’

Jung Won-oh, Mayor of Seongdong-gu (left), is explaining the purpose of the entrance support fund (300,000 KRW) for first-year middle and high school students at a press conference held at Seoul City Hall.

◇Leading Role in Welfare Grand Compromise Policy Sharing Between Central and Local Governments...Secured 300,000 KRW Enrollment Support for Seoul Middle and High School Freshmen

Furthermore, Mayor Jung led meaningful policies in the ‘Welfare Grand Compromise,’ a nationwide topic last year. Raising his voice on the division of welfare roles between the central and local governments, he played a leading role. After 217 out of 226 basic local governments nationwide formed the ‘Welfare Grand Compromise Special Committee,’ within about a year, a case of coordination between metropolitan and basic welfare projects in Seoul was realized.

Starting next year, Seoul City, its 25 autonomous districts, and the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education will jointly provide 300,000 KRW enrollment preparation funds to middle and high school freshmen regardless of income.

The district has currently announced the ‘Seoul Special City Seongdong-gu Enrollment Preparation Fund Support Ordinance’ for legislative notice and is taking swift steps to implement it from January 1 next year.

The ‘Seoul City and Autonomous District Welfare Project Coordination Committee (TF)’ under the Seoul Association of District Mayors, led by Mayor Jung Won-oh, has continuously negotiated with Seoul City and the Education Office to expand the uniform standard of school uniform support projects, initially conducted by some districts, to all districts in Seoul. As a result, on October 29, they finally decided to jointly promote this project.

Initially, Seoul City had shown difficulty participating in the project due to budgetary reasons, resulting in a half-hearted project involving only the Education Office and districts. However, through the persistent efforts of Mayor Jung Won-oh and the committee, the project’s original meaning was preserved.

Seongdong-gu, led by Mayor Jung Won-oh, has emphasized the values of ‘innovation’ and ‘change,’ with all staff working together, standing out among other local governments nationwide.

Due to these efforts, the district received the Presidential Award in the Government Innovation Evaluation for two consecutive years in 2018 and 2019, the Presidential Award in the Korea Knowledge Awards, and was selected as the best institution in the comprehensive civil service evaluation for three consecutive years.

Notably, it earned the honor of introducing the name ‘Seongdong-gu’ as a Korean local government to 193 UN member countries by winning the ‘2020 UN Public Service Award,’ the world’s most prestigious award often called the Nobel Prize of public administration.

Additionally, Mayor Jung Won-oh serves as a standing member of the ‘Committee for Good Local Governments,’ established by the Democratic Party in 2010 to promote local autonomy development.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the enactment of the Local Autonomy Act. The future of Seongdong-gu as a leading ‘local government’ nationwide is highly anticipated.

An official commented, “Since Mayor Jung Won-oh was re-elected, he has developed innovative policies and spread them nationwide, fully demonstrating his capability as a ‘competent district mayor.’”

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