[Photo] Yoo Deok-yeol, Dongdaemun District Mayor, Creates Rest Area for Employees Weary from COVID-19

Yu District Mayor Directly Inspects Facilities While Experiencing Massage Chairs with Union Chairman on the Afternoon of the 4th

Yoo Deok-yeol, Mayor of Dongdaemun-gu, and Jo Chung-seong, Chairman of the Dongdaemun-gu Public Officials Labor Union, are visiting the employee rest area 'Swihtteurak' and using massage chairs.

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] Dongdaemun-gu (Mayor Yoo Deok-yeol) has created a rest area called ‘Shimteulrak’ for employees exhausted from COVID-19 response and heavy workloads.

Due to the prolonged COVID-19 response lasting over a year, not only the public health center staff but all Dongdaemun-gu employees have been deployed to work at screening clinics and residential treatment centers, manage self-quarantined individuals, transport and manage confirmed cases, and conduct epidemiological investigations, causing employee fatigue to reach its peak.

Accordingly, Mayor Yoo, based on the district administration philosophy that ‘happy employees lead to happy residents, and well-rested employees perform better,’ prepared a rest area where all employees can relax comfortably.

The district utilized the vacant space created when the former Dorandoran Cafe, which operated on the basement first floor, moved to the first floor, to establish the employee rest area ‘Shimteulrak,’ which opened on the 29th of last month.

‘Shimteulrak’ means a space imbued with rest for Dongdaemun-gu employees. The name was selected through a public contest among employees, followed by a survey and review by a naming committee.

This space is furnished with sofas and tables so employees can sit comfortably and have light conversations with colleagues, and also includes massage chairs to help recover accumulated fatigue and relieve stress.

On the afternoon of the 4th, Mayor Yoo visited Shimteulrak with Jo Chung-sung, chairman of the Dongdaemun-gu Public Officials Labor Union, to inspect the facility and carefully checked for any inconveniences by personally trying out the massage chairs.

Mayor Yoo usually encourages employees to approach district administration as if it were their own family’s affairs and makes special efforts to boost morale by, for example, treating hardworking employees to pizza as a form of encouragement.

On the 12th of last month, when an unexpected heavy snowfall required all employees to participate in snow removal, Mayor Yoo sent a text message saying, “Thank you and I am also very sorry for your hard work with the continuous snow removal,” to encourage their efforts.

Yoo Deok-yeol, Mayor of Dongdaemun-gu, said, “Seeing employees exhausted after repeatedly wearing protective suits and working in the cold at screening clinics, and those working tirelessly day and night on COVID-19 response, I had no moment of peace. But now, seeing employees smiling brightly while resting at Shimteulrak, I can finally breathe a sigh of relief.”

He added, “We will create a working environment where employees can feel happiness, fulfillment, and pride while working, and we will do our best to ensure that the energetic energy gained from Shimteulrak leads to a higher level of service for residents.”

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