Seongdong-gu Living Civil Complaint Mobile Unit 'Popular' for Replacing Faucets and Drain Pipes, Attaching Draft Stoppers

Free Repair Service Three Times a Year per Household... Installation of Gas Timers and Provision of Air Caps and Door Draft Stoppers by Skilled Professionals Utilizing Local Communities

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Seongdong-gu (Mayor Jung Won-oh) is actively addressing residents' daily inconveniences by operating the ‘Chakchak Seongdong Mobile Civil Complaint Unit’ (hereafter Chakchak Seongdong) during the winter season.

Chakchak Seongdong, aimed at vulnerable groups, is a visiting home repair service that promptly visits and resolves repairs such as faucets. By operating a dedicated mobile unit, it thoroughly eliminates inconveniences that are difficult to resolve alone in daily life.

Chakchak Seongdong supports free repair services including installation of entrance door insect screens with safety locks, replacement of lights, faucets, drainage pipes, and electrical outlets. It provides up to three free repair services annually per household within a material cost limit of 100,000 KRW.

By expanding specialized personnel through local community jobs, especially in the hot summer, it installs windows and other fixtures to allow cool ventilation, and in the cold winter, it provides seasonal services such as installing gas timers for fire prevention and attaching air caps and draft stoppers to block cold winds.

Launched at the end of 2018 and now in its fourth year of operation, Chakchak Seongdong has served a total of 844 households (391 in 2019, 453 in 2020) with 1,505 cases (690 in 2019, 815 in 2020). Notably, in the second half of last year, by strictly adhering to quarantine guidelines, the service volume nearly doubled compared to the reduced service performance in the first half due to COVID-19.

This year, it resolved a total of 705 daily inconvenience cases for 423 households. As demand for the service continues to rise and it has become an essential service for vulnerable residential groups, the plan is to actively operate it again this winter to resolve daily inconveniences.

The district will conduct a ‘Visiting Thawing Support Service’ for four months until March next year, targeting vulnerable households struggling with frozen water pipes due to the cold wave. The thawing service melts ice inside frozen water pipes, inspects the condition of the pipes, and promptly takes initial measures for frozen pipes. If further inspection is needed, temporary measures are taken before connecting the household to professional service providers.

Kim OO, a resident of Wangsimni Doseon-dong, said, “At the end of October, I requested the local community center to attach air caps to various windows, and they came directly to my home and immediately installed them. I have rheumatoid arthritis and standing is difficult, so I am very grateful for this installation.”

Jung Won-oh, Mayor of Seongdong-gu, said, “Even minor issues can be a big difficulty for those in need of care. We will continue to carefully address small inconveniences of residents through services tailored to the season and demand.”

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