Park Sam-rye, Chairperson of Gwangjin District Council, "Hoping Gwangjin Becomes a Community That Cares for Its Neighbors..."

Listening to Answers on Lunar New Year Questions and 5-Minute Speeches Suggesting Directions for Lunar New Year Development... Closing of Gwangjin-gu Council 2nd Regular Session

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] The Gwangjin District Council (Chairperson Park Sam-rye) concluded the schedule of the 240th regular session with the closing of the 3rd plenary session held on the 18th.

At the 2nd plenary session held on the 17th, the Gwangjin District Council presented various opinions for the development of district administration through questions to the executive branch, and on the 18th, time was allocated in the plenary hall to listen to responses regarding these matters.

First, Councilor Moon Kyung-sook pointed out the case of Jayang General Market, an indoor market building located in Jayang 2-dong, which was removed from the redevelopment maintenance zone and has become slum-like, being neglected for a long time in the residential area along the Han River. She urged for the market’s safety management, addressing urban aesthetics issues, and the prompt promotion of the market maintenance project.

In response, the executive branch explained that due to circumstances on the union side, the project was not promoted, and in September of this year, the previously selected maintenance project implementation zone was canceled. They are currently forming a promotion committee to newly advance the Jayang General Market maintenance project and added that they will actively support the project to become self-sustaining through facility modernization when approval is requested from the promotion committee in the future.

They also stated that facility repairs and reinforcements were carried out last year to prepare for safety accidents and that they will prepare for potential slumification of surrounding areas by promoting reconstruction more promptly.

Next, Councilor Jang Gil-cheon suggested improving the facilities of the three youth reading rooms operating in the district to enhance user convenience and satisfaction, and recommended converting the facility operation staff to full-time work to improve the salary system.

He also proposed converting the current reading rooms located in senior centers into senior reading rooms to serve as reading spaces for the elderly.

Regarding this, the executive branch said that they have secured a total project budget of 310 million KRW so far to remodel the facilities and create youth rest areas for improving the reading room environment, and that they will prepare specific additional improvement plans for future environmental enhancements.

As for converting facility operation staff to full-time work, they stated that due to concerns about reducing job opportunities for seniors, the current alternate-day operation should be maintained.

Furthermore, the proposal for operating senior reading rooms will be reviewed comprehensively considering residents’ opinions and regional characteristics.

Following this, Councilor Lee Kyung-ho’s 5-minute free speech session continued.

Councilor Lee Kyung-ho, considering the COVID-19 crisis situation, urged minimizing surplus budget occurrence by strictly adhering to the legal provisions during budget execution, and proposed prioritizing the use of local businesses in various budget executions to support small business owners and self-employed individuals facing difficulties and to participate in revitalizing the local economy.

He also emphasized paying special attention to managing revenue budgets, which have been contracted due to COVID-19, to ensure no disruptions in next year’s budget execution.

Meanwhile, Chairperson Park Sam-rye emphasized that the agenda and budget for this regular session underwent more in-depth review than ever before to prepare for the unprecedented situation of COVID-19, expressing hope that Gwangjin will be a community that looks after neighbors and shares warmth especially in difficult times, and after passing the agenda presented on the 18th, closed the 240th regular session.

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