Nowon-gu Mayor Oh Seung-rok Selected for '2020 Welfare District Mayor Award'

Contributing to making Nowon a livable city for vulnerable groups such as children, adolescents, youth, disabled, and elderly through the creation of social welfare-friendly cities by sector... Efforts to improve welfare points, psychological counseling support, and capacity building for social welfare facility workers

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] Oh Seung-rok, the mayor of Nowon-gu, Seoul, has been selected as the ‘2020 Welfare District Mayor’ by the Seoul Social Workers Association (President Shim Jeong-won).

The ‘Welfare District Mayor Award’ is given to district mayors among the 25 autonomous districts of Seoul who have made significant contributions to the development of community welfare and the improvement of social workers’ status. Since this award is presented by a private social welfare expert organization, it holds special significance.

This award is based on an evaluation of activities in four areas of social welfare: ‘Improvement of welfare workers’ status and treatment,’ ‘Psychological counseling and capacity-building education for welfare workers,’ ‘Construction of welfare facilities and reinforcement of existing facilities’ functions,’ and ‘Implementation of policies for all age groups from children to the elderly.’

First, for ‘Improvement of welfare facility workers’ treatment,’ the mayor received high praise for securing a welfare points budget to boost workers’ morale, supporting psychological counseling fees for social workers’ trauma treatment, and supporting workshops and capacity-building to enhance social workers’ professionalism.

Psychological counseling and capacity building for workers under heavy psychological pressure due to increased welfare duties were also emphasized. Psychological counseling and capacity-building education were provided to about 1,000 welfare facility workers over eight sessions.

‘Construction of social welfare facilities and reinforcement of aging facilities’ were also carried out. Four facilities, including the Nowon Regional Self-Sufficiency Center with a total floor area of 699㎡ and the 2nd Senior Welfare Center, are under construction, and a Youth Counseling Welfare Center has been built housing an alternative school and an out-of-school support center.

Additionally, functional reinforcement projects are underway for six facilities, including comprehensive social welfare centers.

Efforts to create a friendly city for vulnerable groups such as children, adolescents, youth, the disabled, and the elderly in the region cannot be overlooked. These include the establishment of the ‘I-Hu Center’ for collective care, the nation’s first support service for sick children and direct operation of a ‘Child Protection Agency’ at the local government level, creation of ‘barrier-free forest trail circular paths’ on Bulamsan and Yeongchuksan Mountains for the elderly and disabled, installation of ‘rapid charging stations for electric wheelchairs’ on the Gyeongchun Line forest trail and Hwarangdae Station, safety measures for vulnerable elderly during heatwaves and cold spells including operation of ‘elderly heatwave and cold shelters,’ the first ‘Elderly Job Support Center’ and ‘Silver and Youth Cafes’ operated by a Seoul autonomous district, and support projects such as ‘Longevity Celebration Funds’ for elderly aged 90 and 100.

Mayor Oh Seung-rok said, “It seems that our efforts to identify welfare blind spots overlooked by the central government and apply solutions tailored to local conditions have been recognized,” adding, “We will continue to implement policies that carefully support those in need more closely.”

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