Mapo-gu Achieves Five Awards Including Presidential Prize in Disaster Safety Evaluation...Proving Itself as a Safe City

[Seoul District News] Mapo-gu Wins Top Prize and Presidential Award at 'On-site Action Manual' Competition on 22nd; Achieves 9 Consecutive Years of Grade 1 in Regional Safety; Selected as Excellent Institution in Disaster Response Safety Korea Training and Integrated Disaster Site Support Headquarters; Recognized for Excellence in National Safety Education Implementation... Dongdaemun-gu Re-certified as Family-Friendly Institution by Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, Maintaining Certification Since 2013... Seongbuk-gu Expands Goryeodaero 17-gil Road and Improves Hazardous Hwarang-ro 13-ga-gil Road... Gwanak-gu Completes Sewer Maintenance with 23.2 Billion KRW Investment... Guro-gu Issues Orders

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Mapo-gu (Mayor Yoo Dong-gyun) announced that it was selected as the best institution at the ‘On-site Action Manual’ Best Practice Competition hosted by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety on the 22nd and received the Presidential Award.

The ‘On-site Action Manual’ is a guideline that specifically records the action measures and procedures of institutions directly performing tasks at disaster sites according to the type of disaster, based on the Framework Act on Disaster and Safety Management.

The main focus of the competition evaluation was selecting manuals that can be immediately applied on-site, considering disaster types and regional characteristics.

In the first written evaluation by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, which involved local governments and public institutions nationwide, seven institutions were selected: ▲Mapo-gu, Seoul ▲Gyeonggi Province ▲Korea Water Resources Corporation ▲Pyeongtaek Regional Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Office, Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries ▲SR Co., Ltd. ▲Ulsan Metropolitan City ▲Korea Railroad Corporation.

Among them, Mapo-gu identified issues in existing manuals based on its experience responding to three large-scale fires in densely populated facilities last year and this year, and systematically and specifically specified response and recovery procedures for each situation.

As a result, the manual’s on-site usability was highly evaluated by a panel of private expert judges, and Mapo-gu won the top prize?the Presidential Award?in the second final evaluation.

One judge of the competition commented, “Through the Safety Korea Training, Mapo-gu established a practical cooperation system with related agencies such as the military, police, and fire stations, creating a manual capable of rapid response, which is very excellent,” praising Mapo-gu’s disaster response action manual.

Additionally, this year, Mapo-gu received a first-grade rating for nine consecutive years in the regional safety evaluation hosted by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, was selected as an excellent institution in the national safety education implementation evaluation, and was recognized as an excellent institution in disaster response Safety Korea Training in Seoul.

Furthermore, Mapo-gu was chosen as an excellent institution in operating the integrated support headquarters at disaster sites in Seoul’s evaluation, achieving five crowns in disaster safety-related evaluations.

Following its selection as an excellent autonomous district in the ‘Disaster Management Evaluation’ hosted by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety in 2019, Mapo-gu has achieved five crowns in disaster safety-related evaluations, and except for 2020 when evaluations were omitted due to COVID-19, it has achieved this feat for two consecutive years, reaffirming Mapo-gu as a safe city.

Yoo Dong-gyun, Mayor of Mapo-gu, said, “The fact that Mapo-gu’s on-site action manual won the top prize means that Mapo’s response in disaster situations has been standardized,” adding, “We will continue to do our best to make Mapo safe for residents.”

Dongdaemun-gu (Mayor Yoo Deok-yeol) has received re-certification as a family-friendly institution.

The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family evaluates and certifies companies and public institutions that operate family-friendly systems such as childbirth and childcare support, flexible work systems, and fostering a family-friendly workplace culture in an exemplary manner.

Dongdaemun-gu, first recognized as a family-friendly institution in 2013, has continuously maintained this certification. In the recent evaluation, the institution head’s firm interest and commitment to family-friendly management and operation of various family-friendly management programs received high scores.

The district operates various programs such as support for accommodation fees at summer resorts, comprehensive health checkup support for employees, family invitation events, and awards for long-term employees. Additionally, most employees actively participated in Family Day, where they leave work on time every Friday, understanding its purpose well, which was highly evaluated.

Yoo Deok-yeol, Mayor of Dongdaemun-gu, said, “I feel great pride that our district has maintained family-friendly institution certification since first obtaining it in 2013,” and added, “We will continue to make every effort to create a family-friendly workplace culture where employees can harmoniously balance work and family life.”

Seongbuk-gu (Mayor Lee Seung-ro) has completed road expansion and structural improvements on Goryeodaero 17-gil (tentatively named ‘Neulpureun-gil Expansion Project’) and Hwarang-ro 13-ga-gil (tentatively named ‘Lowering the Hill Road behind Jangwi Middle School and Road Expansion Construction’), which have high traffic accident risks in the area.

The tentatively named ‘Neulpureun-gil Expansion Project’ invested 8.5 billion KRW in a 1.1 km road, completing projects in 2005 and 2014 from Korea University Anam Hospital (Goryeodaero 73) to Raemian Anam Apartments (Goryeodaero 17-gil 64), and will complete the 4th section (Gaewoon Middle School (Bukaksan-ro 935) intersection) in November this year, finishing a 25-year-long road expansion project requested by residents.

The 3rd and 4th sections of the Neulpureun-gil Expansion Project (Raemian Apartments to Gaewoon Middle School intersection) had a road width of 6 meters, making two-way vehicle traffic difficult and lacking sidewalks, forcing pedestrians including nearby students to walk on the road, posing high risks of accidents involving vehicles and pedestrians, and residents had many demands for road expansion in this section.

Accordingly, Seongbuk-gu expanded the road width from 6m to 8m on Goryeodaero 17-gil, a city road connecting Goryeodaero and Bukaksan-ro, newly installed a separated 2m-wide sidewalk, and created a walking path connecting students’ school routes and nearby residents to Gaewoonsan Mountain, thereby greatly contributing to residents’ quality of life by providing a safe and pleasant walking environment.

Additionally, the tentatively named ‘Lowering the Hill Road behind Jangwi Middle School and Road Expansion Construction’ improved the road expansion and structure on Hwarang-ro 13-ga-gil, a main road used by local residents accessing Jangwi Middle School, Wolgok Youth Culture House, and Odong Neighborhood Park near the back gate of Jangwi Middle School.

The road near the back gate of Jangwi Middle School was narrow and located at the top of a hill, making it difficult to secure visibility when vehicles passed each other, posing a very high risk of traffic accidents.

In this regard, Seongbuk-gu continuously explored various measures regarding the risk and urgency of structural improvement of the road behind Jangwi Middle School, established an overall reorganization plan, secured 400 million KRW in the 2021 main budget, completed the detailed design in May this year, started construction, and completed the project in November.

The project lowered the hill road behind Jangwi Middle School by more than 1 meter, reducing the slope from 24% to 16%, improving drivers’ visibility, expanded the road width from 6 meters to up to 9 meters, and improved the surrounding road environment and installed additional traffic facilities, completing the construction of safe traffic infrastructure.

Lee Seung-ro, Mayor of Seongbuk-gu, said, “The improvement of these two dangerous roads, which have been long-standing requests from residents, is expected to protect residents’ property and lives, and we will continue to promote road expansion and structural improvements on dangerous roads threatening residents’ safety.”

◆Seoul Seongbuk-gu Personnel ▲Director of Welfare and Culture Bureau Kim Ho-hyung ▲Director of Construction and Transportation Bureau Lee Ju-nam ▲Head of Urban Regeneration Division Kim Young-wook ▲Head of Traffic Administration Division Maeng Hong-jae ▲Head of Finance Division Kang Eun-joo ▲Head of Taxation Division 2 Oh Joo-hwan ▲Specialist of District Council Secretariat Yoo Cheon-gon ▲Acting Head of Senior Welfare Division Lee In-bok ▲Acting Head of Women and Family Division Kang Young-sook ▲Acting Head of Resident Community Division Jeong Chang-seop ▲Acting Head of Environment Division Lee Sung-gwan ▲Acting Head of Civil Affairs and Passport Division Kang Yang-soon ▲Acting Specialist of District Council Secretariat Lee Myung-joo ▲Acting Head of Health Policy Division, Public Health Center Lee Dong-hwan ▲Acting Director of Health Branch Han Sang-gyu ▲Acting Head of Seongbuk-dong Lee Eun-chang

Sadang Baesu Basin Sewer Pipeline Comprehensive Maintenance Project

Gwanak-gu (Mayor Park Jun-hee) announced that it has completed all sewer pipe maintenance projects in the area to prevent road subsidence accidents caused by aging sewer pipes and to prevent flooding in low-lying areas.

This year, the district invested a total of 23.2 billion KRW to implement nine sewer pipe maintenance projects, including comprehensive sewer pipe maintenance and unit improvement projects.

First, to maintain aging sewer pipes and prevent flooding damage in low-lying areas, the ‘Sillim 1 and Sadang Drainage Basin Comprehensive Sewer Pipe Maintenance Project,’ which has been underway since 2019, focused on maintaining 10.9 km of sewer pipes in Sillim-dong, Seorim-dong, Sinwon-dong, Seowon-dong, and Namhyeon-dong.

Additionally, to improve sewer pipe flow capacity and prevent road subsidence accidents in advance, the district replaced 7.6 km of aging pipes through unit improvement projects and emergency repairs of sewer facilities, and maintained 95 defective sewer manholes on roads to prevent road subsidence caused by manholes.

Last year, the district also invested 26.3 billion KRW to maintain and complete a total of 19 km of aging and defective sewer pipes, actively promoting sewer projects such as dredging before the rainy season to improve sewer performance, and was selected as the best autonomous district.

Meanwhile, the district secured 27 billion KRW in the 2022 budget for sewer maintenance following 2021, focusing on safety management and improving residents’ quality of life by preventing flooding and road subsidence.

A district official said, “All employees are working hard to ensure residents’ safety, and sewer maintenance is an important project that improves residents’ lives by creating a safe environment to prevent flooding and a pleasant environment, so we will continue to promote the project to further enhance residents’ quality of life.”

Guro-gu Design Change Review Committee

Guro-gu (Mayor Lee Sung) will strengthen the criteria for reviewing design changes in contracted construction projects. This is expected to eradicate the practice of excessive project cost increases due to unnecessary design changes.

Guro-gu announced on the 29th, “To enhance administrative efficiency and transparency by thoroughly reviewing the necessity of design changes in advance and verifying the validity of budget increases, we will revise the operation guidelines of the Design Change Review Committee.”

The revised guidelines, which strengthen the review criteria of the Design Change Review Committee and unify the committee’s supervising department to the Audit Office, will be applied from January 1 of the new year.

Accordingly, construction projects conducted by Guro-gu with contract amounts increasing or decreasing by 40 million KRW or more from the initial contract amount will be subject to review by the Design Change Review Committee. Previously, only changes of 50 million KRW or more were subject.

Also, if the total amount of multiple design changes exceeds 40 million KRW and the annual unit price contract amount increases by 100 million KRW or more including new processes (excluding simple quantity changes), it will also be subject to review.

Guro-gu will also unify the supervising department of the Design Change Review Committee from each project department to the Audit Office, addressing concerns that management might be insufficient when each project department directly supervises the committee for design changes.

The Design Change Review Committee will include internal members such as district office managers and ombudsmen, as well as external members recruited publicly, including private experts, to enhance expertise and objectivity.

A Guro-gu official said, “This measure is expected to establish principles and standards for design changes and prevent unnecessary budget waste in advance,” adding, “We will continue to do our best to maintain a trustworthy and transparent organizational culture for residents.”

◆Seoul Guro-gu Personnel Appointments (Promotions and Transfers for Grades 4 and 5) ▲Director of Administrative Management Bureau Kim Ki-jung (former Director of District Council Secretariat) ▲Director of Safety and Construction Bureau Lim Bo-sang (former Head of Cleaning Administration Division) ▲Head of Regional Economy Division Kwon Oh-shin (former Head of Parking Management Division) ▲Head of Collection Division Lee Young-ran (former Head of Taxation Division) ▲Head of Multicultural Policy Division Kwak Jung-hee (former Head of Autonomous Administration Division) ▲Head of Urban Safety Division Ahn Woo-young (former Head of Women’s Policy Division) ▲Head of Autonomous Administration Division Yoon Jae-woo (former Head of Sports Promotion Division) ▲Head of Culture and Tourism Division Jung Joo-won (former Head of Multicultural Policy Division) ▲Head of Finance Division Kim Jung-min (former Collection Division) ▲Head of Taxation Division Ahn Hyung-seop (former Taxation Division) ▲Head of Women’s Policy Division Nam Il-woo (former Parking Management Division) ▲Head of Housing Division Choi Eun-jun (former Sanitation Division) ▲Head of Parking Management Division Jo Sung-kwon (former Regional Economy Division) ▲Head of Vehicle Management Division Lee Mi-geun (former Public Relations and IT Division) ▲Head of General Affairs Division Kim Yong-seok (former Health Administration Division) ▲Head of Sports Promotion Division Sa Chang-soo (former Autonomous Administration Division) ▲Head of Cleaning Administration Division Park Hee-woo (former Multicultural Policy Division) ▲Head of Guro 2-dong Lee Kyu-taek (former General Affairs Division)

Personnel appointments (Grade 4 transfers in and out) ▲Director of District Council Secretariat Shin Soo-jung (former Seoul Metropolitan Government) ▲Transferred to Seoul Metropolitan Government Choi Young-mi (former Director of Safety and Construction Bureau, Guro-gu)

Gangbuk-gu (Mayor Park Kyum-soo) is revitalizing the commercial district by transforming the alleys of Insu-dong into a specialized street.

This project is underway around Suyang-ro 87ga-gil and the Suyu Northern Market area, aiming for completion by the end of next year. The alleys of Insu-dong are densely packed with old buildings and small, long-established shops, and there have been many calls for revitalizing the commercial district.

Gangbuk-gu first completed signboard improvements, road paving, and rainwater drain maintenance for 15 stores. After completing the landscape improvement service for the Insu-dong alley commercial district early next year, the district plans to present a basic design concept reflecting the local identity, including Suyu Northern Market. Detailed plans incorporating Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED), such as CCTV and gas pipe covers, will also be specified.

Along with this, the district plans to promote a specialized alley commercial district project. Moving beyond simple facility installation, it has established a regeneration policy that adds unique colors to each alley. Projects such as symbolic signboards representing the alley market and solar-powered LED mailboxes will be implemented.

Park Kyum-soo, Mayor of Gangbuk-gu, said, “We will improve the old environment around the Insu-dong alley market to make it a place where residents want to visit,” adding, “We will revitalize the local economy by preserving the value and characteristics of the alleys.”

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