Yongsan District Mayor Seong Jang-hyun Awards Three Exemplary Public Officials for Proactive Administration: Park Yoo-jin, Choi Chang-hoon, and Park Geum-ryeo

Leading Major Projects Including Designation as Historical and Cultural Renaissance Special Zone

Seong Jang-hyun, Mayor of Yongsan-gu (far right), awarded the '2021 First Half Year Active Administration Outstanding Public Officials' commendation in the mayor's office on the 22nd and posed with the awardees.

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] "You have truly worked hard for the residents. You are the face and pride of our district office."

On the 22nd, Seong Jang-hyun, Mayor of Yongsan District, awarded commendations to outstanding proactive public officials and made these remarks.

Yongsan District (Mayor Seong Jang-hyun) newly selected three ‘Outstanding Proactive Public Officials for the First Half of 2021.’

The awardees are Park Yoo-jin (female, 28), Administrative Officer of the Policy Coordination Team, Regional Policy Division (Grand Prize), Choi Chang-hoon (57), Team Leader of the District Unit Planning Team, Urban Planning Division (Excellence Award), and Park Geum-ryeo (female, 52), Team Leader of Administrative Civil Complaints, Seobinggo-dong Community Service Center (Excellence Award).

◆ Key Figure in Designating Yongsan Historical and Cultural Renaissance Special Zone

Park Yoo-jin, who is in her sixth year since joining this year, was honored as the youngest-ever outstanding proactive public official in the district for her work on the ‘Ministry of SMEs and Startups Regional Specialized Development Zone (Yongsan Historical and Cultural Renaissance Special Zone) designation’ project.

The district’s Historical and Cultural Renaissance Special Zone covers 181 parcels including Hangangno 3-ga 65-154, totaling 577,866.7㎡. Using this area as a base, the district plans to carry out four specialized projects and 13 detailed projects by 2024: ▲ Establishing an urban historical hub ▲ Integrating history and culture into daily life ▲ Expanding and linking historical and cultural content ▲ Discovering historical and cultural jobs.

The total project cost is 51 billion KRW. The production inducement effect is 66.2 billion KRW, and the income inducement effect is 9.4 billion KRW. In April, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups newly designated and announced three regional specialized development zones, including Yongsan.

To secure the Ministry’s designation, Park led procedures over the past three years, including feasibility studies, detailed basic plan establishment, public hearings, district council consultations, application for designation, and regulatory special case coordination.

Park said, "I am pleased to contribute to branding Yongsan as a historical and cultural city," adding, "I will continue to do my best to ensure the smooth progress of detailed projects for the historical and cultural renaissance of Yongsan, where past, present, and future harmonize."

◆ Leading the Plan to Establish a Futsal Field at Hangang Elementary School

Choi Chang-hoon, a civil engineer with 28 years of experience, was selected as an outstanding proactive public official for his role in the ‘Establishment Plan for a Futsal Field at Hangang Elementary School (9 Hangang-daero 14-gil).’ He added related content as a ‘public contribution’ in the detailed development plan for the special planning zone on the site of Yongsan Railroad Hospital (Hangangno 3-ga 65-154 area), adjacent to Hangang Elementary School.

Hangang Elementary School has a site area of only 3,600㎡ and no playground, limiting children’s physical activities. Accordingly, Choi proposed to Seoul City and HDC Hyundai Development Company to allocate part of the special planning zone to build a futsal field (total floor area 1,200㎡) for students.

The plan passed the City Urban Architecture Joint Committee last month, and HDC Hyundai Development Company is scheduled to build the field by 2024 and donate it to the district. The district will manage the facility but prioritize access for Hangang Elementary students. A dedicated entrance connected to the school’s back gate and an elevator will also be constructed.

Residents, grateful for the resolution of the school’s long-standing issue, recommended Choi and the responsible officer as outstanding proactive public officials.

◆ Leading Efforts to Alleviate Parking Shortage in Seobinggo-dong

Park Geum-ryeo, who joined in 1992, worked tirelessly to solve the chronic parking shortage in Seobinggo-dong. As most of Seobinggo-dong, a redevelopment area, consists of old detached houses and small villas, residents faced difficulties securing parking lots. Even when the district tried to create parking lots, high land prices made land acquisition difficult.

Park focused on a vacant lot at Seobinggo-dong 52-3 and one other parcel. This approximately 200㎡ land had been abandoned for decades. Coincidentally, the district was looking for land to implement a ‘small vacant land parking lot project.’

Since October last year, Park searched for landowners, identifying two owners, one of whom was a U.S. citizen, complicating the drafting of a land use agreement. Nevertheless, Park did not give up, sending related documents to the U.S., confirming the willingness to agree, and leading negotiations between the district and landowners in April.

Currently, a resident-priority parking lot with 12 spaces has been established on the land, and nearby residents have been using it since the 7th.

The selection of outstanding proactive public officials follows the ‘2021 Yongsan District Proactive Administration Implementation Plan.’ In March, the district established related policies, received candidate recommendations, verified achievements, and held a selection committee.

Outstanding officials receive incentives such as mayoral commendations, highest grade performance bonuses, priority selection for overseas training, and priority allocation of recreational facilities.

Additionally, the district plans to improve organizational culture through various methods, including operating a proactive administration committee, selecting and promoting key proactive tasks, and protecting proactive officials (pre-consultation and exemption).

Mayor Seong Jang-hyun said, "I express my gratitude and congratulations to the outstanding proactive public officials," adding, "If public officials make efforts, they can change the region. Let’s work together."

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