Jung Won-oh, Seongdong District Mayor: Why Did He Select the 'Cheongnyeon Tongjang (Youth Account) Manager'?

On the 31st of last month, three young leaders of Yongdap-dong in their 30s were appointed, gaining attention as young and passionate youth leaders... As of July, there are 1,164 single-person youth households in Yongdap-dong, accounting for 55.8% of the total 2,087 households around Jang-anpyeong Station in Yongdap-dong... Active promotion of 'Policies and Services Desired by Youth' will expand interest and communication opportunities for single-person youth households.

Jung Won-oh, Mayor of Seongdong-gu, and the appointed Youth Account holders

Bankbook Interview

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Seongdong-gu (Mayor Jeong Won-oh), which supports various policies targeting the 2030 generation youth, appointed three youth community leaders in their 30s from Yongdap-dong on the 31st of last month, drawing attention as young and passionate community leaders.

The appointed leaders are youths in their 30s residing in Yongdap-dong, who will each take on the roles of community leaders for districts 12, 13, and 15 starting August 1.

Recently, the number of single-person households living in officetels around Yongdap-dong has been steadily increasing, leading to the establishment of two new districts. As of July, there are 1,164 youth single-person households around Janghanpyeong Station in Yongdap-dong, accounting for 55.8% of the total 2,087 households in Yongdap-dong.

In response to the growing number of youth households, youth community leaders were selected to empathize and communicate with local youths and actively participate as members of the community. Efforts were also made to maximize participation from the recruitment stage.

Since middle-aged residents often serve as community leaders, the Yongdap-dong chief and staff visited officetels directly to inform residents about the roles and recruitment of community leaders by posting notices on bulletin boards, producing promotional leaflets, and distributing them door-to-door.

They also visited management offices and nearby real estate agencies to actively promote the recruitment of youth community leaders. As a result, a total of seven applicants applied during the three-week open recruitment period from June 28 to July 19.

The applicants had an average age of 34.4 years and came from diverse occupations such as self-employed, freelancers, instructors, legal firm litigation staff, and church evangelists.

A community leader recommendation review committee was formed to conduct face-to-face interviews, evaluating candidates on their motivation, attitude, interest and understanding of the community leader role, and spirit of service to the community. Three final candidates were selected and officially appointed on August 1 to carry out their duties.

Recently, the so-called ‘MZ generation’ youth in their 20s and 30s make up the largest portion of single-person households in Seongdong-gu. To enhance policy effectiveness for this generation, the district launched the ‘Single-Person Household Support Policy Task Force (TF)’ in May and has continuously developed support measures tailored to their characteristics.

Last month, the district introduced a ‘Comprehensive Package for Single-Person Household Support’ including ongoing policies such as ‘Youth Moving Vehicle Support’ and ‘Half-Price Brokerage Fee Service for Youth Tenants,’ and plans to actively promote ‘policies desired by youth for youth’ through the youth community leaders.

Jeong OO, appointed as the leader of district 13, expressed, “As a community leader representing an administrative district, one must be more interested and proactive about the area than anyone else,” adding, “I will be a friendly and passionate community leader.”

Jeong Won-oh, Mayor of Seongdong-gu, said, “We expect that the youth community leaders will increase youth interest and participation in district administration,” and added, “We will communicate regularly with the youth leaders through quarterly meetings and other occasions to listen carefully to the voices of the youth.”

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