Seoul Jung-gu Secures 30.1 Billion Won Budget in 2020 External Agency Public Project Competitions

100 Billion KRW for Sindang 5-dong Urban Regeneration Project, 5 Billion KRW for Daehyeonsan and Yaksu-dong Mobility Facilities... 112.6 Billion KRW Secured Since 2011, Including 48.8 Billion KRW After Mayor Seoyangho's Inauguration

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Jung-gu, Seoul (Mayor Seo Yang-ho) achieved the remarkable result of securing a budget of 30.1 billion KRW across 58 sectors in government ministries and external institution public contest projects, including the Seoul Metropolitan Government, throughout the year 2020.

This amount is three times greater compared to the previous year, 2019. It reflects how diligently Jung-gu worked to secure funding over the past year.

It is especially meaningful as this achievement was made despite the special circumstances of COVID-19, with proactive efforts to find and apply for public contest projects from the beginning of the year.

Public contest projects are initiatives that receive budget support by combining regional characteristics with creative administration. Securing budgets through external contests is an excellent way to supplement insufficient project funds.

The most notable achievement among Jung-gu’s public contest projects was securing 10 billion KRW as seed money by applying for the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s urban regeneration project.

The Seoul-type urban regeneration project is aimed at revitalizing the community by improving the residential environment of low-rise residential areas and activating the depressed alley commercial districts, with the local resident community at its core. In Jung-gu, Sindang 5-dong was the first to be selected.

The district office stated that by continuously discovering and introducing linked projects with the central government and Seoul city, it expects to secure an additional budget of up to approximately 30 billion KRW and will devote all efforts to budget acquisition this year as well.

Next to note is the monorail on the hillside of Daehyeonsan Reservoir Park and the installation of an elevator next to the retaining wall of Dongho Tunnel. Jung-gu applied for these projects through Seoul city’s public contest and secured 5 billion KRW in project funds.

These projects are especially valuable as they are the result of Dongbu-dong projects promoted by Jung-gu, created through the cooperation of residents, district office, and Dong community center officials to improve mobility convenience for vulnerable pedestrians such as the elderly and disabled.

The 3.6 billion KRW secured for the Sindang Intersection public parking complex project to improve residents’ convenience and the 1 billion KRW obtained for the Donghwa-dong alleyway regeneration project in the second half of 2020 are also noteworthy achievements.

In revitalizing the local economy, including traditional markets, Jung-gu stood out by acquiring 3.67 billion KRW across 12 projects. Among these, support for traditional market and shopping street revitalization projects amounted to 1.78 billion KRW, and 300 million KRW was received for collaboration among clothing manufacturers, facility environment improvement, and smart anchor cooperative projects.

In particular, Jung-gu actively engaged in job creation public contest projects aimed at stabilizing the livelihoods of local residents struggling due to the economic downturn caused by COVID-19, yielding fruitful results.

Thanks to this, Jung-gu secured a total of approximately 1.8 billion KRW in 14 fields hosted by various external institutions such as the Seoul Metropolitan Government, Ministry of the Interior and Safety, and Ministry of Employment and Labor, enabling the implementation of various job projects throughout the year.

Additionally, projects for out-of-school youth spaces, youth hangouts, installation of Our Neighborhood Care Centers, pilot projects for establishing all-day care systems for elementary, middle, and high school students, operation of learning programs for residents, and funding for various fields such as roads, environment, and daily life were all actively pursued, resulting in abundant achievements through proactive administration over the year.

Thus, the total project funds secured by Jung-gu from external institutions up to last year amount to a staggering 112.6 billion KRW, starting from 690 million KRW in 2011. Of this, the external budget secured since Mayor Seo Yang-ho’s inauguration in July 2018 amounts to 44.8 billion KRW, accounting for 40% of the budget secured over the past 10 years in just two and a half years.

Mayor Seo Yang-ho of Jung-gu said, "Securing a budget three times larger than the previous year despite the difficult situation caused by COVID-19 is the result of residents’ active cooperation and support, as well as the creativity and proactive administration of our staff. In the new year of the Year of the Ox, we will focus all our capabilities steadfastly and vigorously on the happiness of residents and the development of Jung-gu."

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