[Photo] Geumcheon-gu, National Happiness Civil Service Office Awarded Prime Minister's Commendation

[Seoul District Photo News] Geumcheon-gu Office Integrated Civil Service Center Certified as 'Excellent Public Happiness Civil Service Institution' on Civil Service Day... Dedicated Civil Service Staff Assigned, Socially Considerate Service Counters Operated, Facility Remodeling Enhances Service Quality... Dongjak-gu Receives Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Award for Regional Industry Promotion... Kim Seon-gap, Gwangjin-gu Mayor, Awarded 'Welfare Mayor Award'... Seoul Gangseo-gu Holds Regular Meeting of Height Restriction Relaxation Promotion Committee

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Geumcheon-gu (Mayor Yu Seong-hoon) was selected as an ‘Excellent Institution for the National Happiness Civil Service Office’ at the 12th Civil Service Day event held at Geumcheon-gu Office on the 24th, receiving a Prime Minister’s Commendation.

Civil Service Day (November 24) has been held annually since 2010 to encourage and boost the morale of civil servants in charge of civil affairs, meaning ‘Serving each and every citizen 24 hours a day.’ This year, it was held at Geumcheon-gu Office in Seoul.

At the event, awards were given to excellent institutions in the fields of ‘National Happiness Civil Service Office,’ ‘One-stop Visit Civil Service Desk,’ and ‘Civil Service System Improvement.’

Geumcheon-gu was recognized for significantly improving the internal and external environment of the civil service office and civil service services to provide customer-centered civil service, achieving the honor of being selected as an excellent institution for the National Happiness Civil Service Office (Prime Minister’s Commendation) in 2021.

The integrated civil service office of Geumcheon-gu, newly certified as a National Happiness Civil Service Office, has been operating a one-stop civil service desk (integrated handling of immediate and simple civil affairs) since December 2011. All staff from three departments (Civil Affairs and Passport Division, Real Estate Information Division, Traffic Administration Division) are stationed full-time, and two departments (Tax Division 1, Tax Division 2) work on a rotating basis.

Dedicated civil service guidance staff have been assigned to establish an active and professional guidance system, and a social consideration-dedicated desk for assisting the disabled and elderly is set up at the civil service guidance desk.

Additionally, a job information center operates within the civil service office to provide residents with job information, aiming to improve the quality of civil service.

Furthermore, in 2020, the civil service office was remodeled by installing civil service form desks of varying heights and a book caf?, and improving waiting seats for civil petitioners, nursing rooms, and automatic doors, creating a bright and pleasant environment.

Yu Seong-hoon, Mayor of Geumcheon-gu, said, “The district office is an institution that provides administrative services to residents on the front line, and I consider it very meaningful to be selected as an ‘Excellent Institution for the National Happiness Civil Service Office.’ We will continue to strive to create a convenient and safe civil service office environment and pursue civil service administration that listens to the voices of residents.”

Dongjak-gu (Mayor Lee Chang-woo) announced on the 24th that it was selected as an excellent local government in the regional economic revitalization category and received the Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Award at the ‘2021 Regional Industry Promotion Merit Awards’ hosted by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, being the only autonomous district in Seoul to receive this honor on the 10th.

The ‘2021 Regional Industry Promotion Merit Awards’ are given to individuals or organizations that have contributed to national balanced development through regional industry promotion and enhancement of industrial complex competitiveness.

Since 2018, Dongjak-gu has been highly recognized for its contribution to revitalizing the local economy by providing customized jobs according to life cycles and creating sustainable local jobs by linking district characteristics and local resources.

First, the district reorganized its organization to specialize in job-related tasks, establishing a Youth Job Team and focusing on implementing resident-experienced job policies.

It also provided customized job packages for different life stages, including youth, seniors, career-interrupted women, and middle-aged individuals. In April 2019, the Noryangjin Youth Job Center was opened to offer capacity-building programs and employment education tailored to youth demand, serving 28,288 people over two years, with a total of 165 successful employments. In July last year, a Senior Job Center was opened to discover jobs for seniors.

Job training courses for career-interrupted women, a village bus driver training system for middle-aged individuals, and professional workforce training in postpartum care were provided to support employment linkage.

Moreover, since being designated as the nation’s first ‘Vocational Education Special Zone’ in 2019, the district has built job infrastructure. It has promoted a paradigm shift in vocational education away from the traditional academy industry, fostering future-adaptive talent and linking recruitment. Through next-generation core talent development projects and customized employment support for those in their 20s and 30s, a total of 56 people have successfully found jobs.

Additionally, last year, Dongjak-gu installed a mask factory within the Dongjak-gu Disabled Protection Workshop, hiring one mask factory manufacturing manager. The district plans to hire 2 to 3 new employees annually, aiming to add 10 more by 2023.

Despite operating on a reduced scale due to COVID-19, the district raised the average wage for disabled workers to ensure that their labor value is not discriminated against due to disability.

Mayor Lee Chang-woo said, “We have been working to provide jobs needed by each social class, and I am pleased that these efforts were recognized, making us the only local government to receive the ministerial award. We will continue to actively promote job policies that contribute to revitalizing the local economy.”

Kim Seon-gap, Mayor of Gwangjin-gu, received the ‘2021 Welfare Mayor Award’ at the award ceremony held at the district office’s comprehensive situation room on the 24th.

Hosted by the Seoul Social Workers Association, this award was established to select and publicize heads of organizations who have contributed to the development of welfare in autonomous districts and the improvement of social workers’ status and rights.

Since taking office in 2018, Mayor Kim has contributed to welfare development by launching the Gwangjin Welfare Foundation and establishing a comprehensive welfare network.

He was honored for his achievements in conducting surveys on the treatment and status of social welfare facility workers and promoting treatment improvement projects at the district level.

Notably, projects such as the Gwangjin-style Care SOS Project, Life Second Act 50+ Policy Project, customized housekeeping care for pregnant women and Gwangjin Mom Taxi, creation of shelters for the visually impaired and the hearing impaired, and the introduction of welfare points for social welfare facility workers have been selected as exemplary cases for local governments.

Additionally, Mayor Kim received the Welfare Grand Prize in the head of organization category at the ‘2021 1st Korea Autonomous Awards’ held at the Federation of Korean Industries Conference Center in Yeouido on the 18th.

He was recognized for his contributions to welfare development in autonomous districts, improving the status of social workers, establishing the Gwangjin welfare baseline, and actively promoting childbirth and childcare support.

Mayor Kim Seon-gap of Gwangjin-gu said, “I believe this award is the result of the efforts of all social welfare workers in both the public and private sectors for the welfare development of Gwangjin-gu. We will continue to actively promote welfare projects to implement practical and beneficial programs that residents can truly feel, striving to make Gwangjin a happy place for all.”

Gangseo-gu, Seoul (Mayor Noh Hyun-song) held a ‘Regular Meeting of the Height Restriction Relaxation Promotion Committee’ in the district office’s large conference room on the morning of the 24th.

Mayor Noh Hyun-song and the committee members attending the meeting shared the achievements of the past year and reviewed future directions for the prompt promotion of height restriction relaxation.

Mayor Noh said, “Despite difficult conditions, we have achieved gradual progress with residents, and based on this, I am confident that practical height restriction relaxation will soon be realized. We will do our best to resolve the long-standing wishes of residents.”

Oh Seung-rok, Mayor of Nowon-gu, attended the Kimchi-making event hosted by the Saemaul Women’s Association at Junggye Neighborhood Park at 1 p.m. on the 24th.

This event was organized to support kimchi-making for neighbors in need in the community, gathering Saemaul Movement members and military personnel in preparation for winter.

3,000 heads of kimchi were made and will be delivered to underprivileged groups, multicultural families, and social welfare facilities.

The event started with ingredient preparation the day before, and kimchi-making and delivery took place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the 24th.

Mayor Oh Seung-rok said, “I would like to express my gratitude to everyone who participated despite the cold weather. The warm-hearted kimchi will be a hearty gift to neighbors in need.”

Geumcheon-gu (Mayor Yu Seong-hoon) signed an agreement on the 23rd with Heemyeong Hospital Medical Corporation and Seoul W Mental Health Clinic to designate them as dedicated medical institutions for child abuse cases, establishing a rapid medical support system for abused children.

Although abused children require quick and accurate diagnosis and treatment by doctors, long waiting times at medical institutions have made child protection measures difficult. Moreover, due to the ‘principle of separating suspected abusive guardians during investigation,’ situations arose where abused children could not receive medical treatment because doctors refused to see them without a guardian when accompanied by child abuse-dedicated officials or police.

In response, Geumcheon-gu created an environment where children can grow up healthy and safe by providing prompt medical services to children in medical blind spots through the designation of dedicated medical institutions.

Under this agreement, abused children will receive priority medical treatment and can be examined and diagnosed even if their guardians do not accompany them. Additionally, when holding judgment meetings and committees on child abuse, Geumcheon-gu will receive professional opinions and advice from medical staff to respond expertly to child abuse cases.

Yu Seong-hoon, Mayor of Geumcheon-gu, said, “I express my gratitude to the medical institutions that actively cooperated for the children of our district. We will continue to provide administrative support and efforts to create a safe Geumcheon-gu free from child abuse.”

Yangcheon-gu (Mayor Kim Soo-young) announced that it conducted a joint public-private street cleaning from 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. on the 24th to create a pleasant urban environment.

This cleaning involved joint participation by Yangcheon-gu Office, 18 neighborhood community centers, and functional organizations, focusing on major commercial areas and subway station surroundings with high foot traffic where environmental maintenance was insufficient.

In particular, led by the Cleaning Administration Division, departments such as the Park and Greenery Division, Construction Management Division, Road Division, Flood Control Division, and Traffic Administration Division planned to carry out extensive environmental maintenance around parks, green areas, sidewalk facilities, sewer facilities dredging, and traffic safety facilities.

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