Why Did Jung Won-oh, Mayor of Seongdong-gu, Appoint Lee Jeong-hee, Head of Planning and Budget Division, as 'Seongdong-gu Worker' and Awarded the Prime Minister's Prize?

Jung Won-oh, Seongdong District Mayor, Supports 'Efficient Mayor' Image with Prime Minister's Award Last Year-End... Appointed as Sakun-dong Chief on January 1, Assigned Role to Communicate with Residents

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] Lee Jeong-hee, head of the Planning and Budget Division at Seongdong-gu Office, who is recognized as a representative 'competent executive' among Seongdong-gu officials (photo), has become a hot topic for receiving the Prime Minister's Award at the end of 2020.

Lee (52) worked as the head of the Budget Team for 3 years and 7 months from May 1, 2014, was promoted to Grade 5 (Administrative Officer) in 2018, and served as head of the Urban Regeneration Division for 1 year and head of the Planning and Budget Division for 2 years, making him a leading worker in Seongdong-gu.

Lee received the Prime Minister's Award, the highest award among those given to employees at the end of last year.

He was appointed as a Grade 9 official in Seoul in June 1988 and has worked in Seongdong-gu since then.

As a public official, he has faithfully performed his duties with a clear sense of mission and spirit of service throughout his career, leading the receipt of the Presidential Award in the 2019 Government Innovation Evaluation, the 2019 Korea Knowledge Award, and the 2020 UN Public Service Award.

In particular, to realize local administrative innovation, he contributed to Seongdong-gu being recognized as a truly 'competent local government' in the era of decentralization by winning the Presidential Award for two consecutive years (2018, 2019) for the first time nationwide in the Government Innovation Evaluation hosted by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, which evaluates innovation performance, dissemination, and public perception across local governments nationwide.

He also won the Presidential Award in 2019, the highest honor in Korea's knowledge administration field, at the Korea Knowledge Award (hosted by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety), the first time for a basic local government.

Additionally, he received the 2020 UN Public Service Awards (UNPSA) in the field of delivering inclusive and equitable services for all, the world's highest honor in public administration.

These significant awards, which brought great achievements to Jeong Won-oh, the mayor of Seongdong-gu, as a 'national local government leader,' are credited largely to Lee's decisive role.

Lee is also known for personally delivering presentations whenever Seongdong-gu received such major awards.

Because of this, he is known to have earned strong trust from Mayor Jeong.

In particular, employees at the district office know about his efforts to secure insufficient local government budgets by directly persuading not only Seoul City but also the Ministry of the Interior and Safety.

Moreover, Lee was recognized for operating Seongdong-gu's knowledge management system, ‘e-Seongdong Bogam,’ a treasure trove of knowledge administration, sharing know-how and experiences acquired during work processes with other employees, thereby reducing trial and error during job rotations and improving the quality of decision-making.

After receiving this major award from Mayor Jeong Won-oh on the 30th of last month, Lee was appointed as the head of Sageun-dong as of January 1 this year.

On the 2nd, the new head expressed his determination, saying, “Based on my experience working at the district office, I will communicate directly with the residents of Sageun-dong.”

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