Dongdaemun-gu, Operation of Consultation Help Room and Assistance Bell for Socially Vulnerable Citizens

Immediate Response to Help Requests, Providing Outreach Civil Service... Lowering Barriers and Enhancing Accessibility for Civil Complaints

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Dongdaemun-gu (Mayor Yoo Deok-yeol) has installed a consultation assistance room and a help bell on the first floor of the district office's General Civil Service Office to facilitate convenience for socially vulnerable groups, and will operate them starting from the 11th.

When elderly people, disabled individuals, pregnant women, and other mobility-impaired civil petitioners press the help bell, the responsible public official will visit to provide guidance on civil petition consultations and form completion, offering a one-stop administrative service that actively handles civil petitions in one place without requiring movement.

The district considered that the existing method of providing civil petition services by having petitioners visit the office could pose a high barrier for socially vulnerable groups with mobility difficulties.

The help bell is special in that it immediately responds to the petitioner's 'request for help,' enabling proactive and active civil petition administrative services where officials visit the petitioner.

The district plans to have the responsible public official actively arrange for civil petitions to be handled as much as possible within the consultation assistance room, and if location movement is necessary for identity verification or other reasons, the official will directly transfer the petitioner and detailed petition matters to the relevant department to ensure the petitioner can feel the assistance from their perspective.

Additionally, starting in February, the district will integrate specialized consultations such as legal, real estate, and tax services, which were previously conducted individually by each department, into the consultation assistance room in the General Civil Service Office to further improve accessibility to civil petitions.

The district plans to operate fixed days and times for each consultation field, and due to the spread of COVID-19, consultations will be conducted via telephone and video conferencing in a non-face-to-face manner, with face-to-face consultations resuming once the situation stabilizes.

Yoo Deok-yeol, Mayor of Dongdaemun-gu, stated, “The help bell will lower the high barrier to civil petitions for socially vulnerable groups and alleviate inconveniences for the elderly, disabled, and others,” adding, “We will carefully ensure there are no inconveniences during the civil petition process and do our best to provide civil petition services that satisfy all residents without leaving anyone behind.”

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