Dobong-gu Mayor Dongjin Lee Urges Legislation and Sustainable Healthy City Measures

Dobong-gu Mayor Dongjin Lee to Attend Policy Forum on the 26th as a Panelist for the Enactment of the "Healthy City Act," Discussing Legalization Measures and Urging Legislation

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] On the 26th, Lee Dong-jin, Mayor of Dobong-gu, attended the 'Policy Forum for the Enactment of the Healthy City Act' held at the Grand Station Hall of the Kensington Hotel in Yeouido, Seoul, as a panelist, urging the legislative enactment of the Healthy City Act to realize a 'sustainable healthy city.'

This forum was organized as a platform to discuss the necessity of legislation considering that healthy city projects are currently being promoted without legal grounds, aiming to publicize the need for the law, reduce health disparities between regions, and incorporate the concept of health into all policies.

The forum was hosted by National Assembly members Lee Hae-sik and Shin Hyun-young, and jointly organized by the Korea Healthy Cities Association, Korea Health Promotion Institute, National Assembly Life Safety Forum, and the Korean Society of Preventive Medicine. Professors Hong Yoon-chul of Seoul National University College of Medicine and Kang Eun-jung of Soonchunhyang University College of Medical Science presented on the necessity of legalizing healthy cities, domestic and international cases, and directions for the enactment of the Healthy City Act.

To prevent COVID-19, experts, representatives of operating committee cities, and panelists attended on-site, while 102 member cities participated via live YouTube broadcast.

Panelists included ▲Lee Dong-jin, Mayor of Dobong-gu ▲Lim Taek, Mayor of Dong-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City ▲Byun Byung-seol, Dean of Graduate School of Policy, Inha University ▲Jeon Jong-tae, Director of Living Space Policy Division, Ministry of the Interior and Safety ▲Ko Hyung-woo, Director of Health Policy Division, Ministry of Health and Welfare.

Mayor Lee Dong-jin of Dobong-gu stated, “The healthy city agenda is a global issue with a local government agenda character. As this year marks the 30th anniversary of the revival of local autonomy, the legalization of healthy city projects promoted as a local agenda has significant meaning from the perspective of local autonomy, and institutional support is essential to realize healthy cities,” urging the enactment of healthy city legislation.

He also mentioned, “The crisis humanity faces due to COVID-19 reminds us once again of the meaning of healthy cities as defined by WHO. WHO’s healthy city is defined as ‘a city that continuously strives to improve the physical and social environment of the city, where all social members of the community cooperate to enhance citizens’ health and quality of life,’ which is a very comprehensive concept.”

Along with this, he added, “Therefore, the vision of healthy cities defined by WHO and the establishment of HiAP (Health in All Policies) to realize that vision are practically very challenging. In that sense, institutional support to implement a practical healthy city is very urgent, and to fully realize the spirit of healthy cities as defined by WHO, it is desirable to pursue the status of a basic law from the outset.”

Meanwhile, Dobong-gu has been selected as an operating committee city of the Korea Healthy Cities Association since 2019 and has been active, receiving the ‘Best Award’ in the joint policy category in 2016-2017 and 2019, and the ‘Excellence Award’ in the general policy category in 2018. In addition, since 2019, Dobong-gu has been promoting the '3355 Neighborhood Walking Project' as a district project, striving to create a healthy city.

Dobong-gu Health Policy Division, Healthy City Team

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