Gangdong-gu Mayor Lee Jeong-hoon Smiles Brightly... Gangdong-gu Secures a Total of 47.3 Billion Won through Awards in 100 External Agency Evaluations and Public Projects in 2021

Prime Minister and Minister Awards 13, 5 International Awards including WHO, UNICEF Child-Friendly City Advanced Certification Recognized for Excellence in District Administration... Continued Outstanding Evaluations Domestically and Internationally through Various Projects Applying 'Spatial Welfare'

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] Gangdong-gu (District Mayor Lee Jeong-hoon) achieved awards in a total of 100 categories in external institution evaluations and public contests hosted by central government ministries and various organizations in 2021, securing a budget of 47.39 billion KRW.

The district received 13 awards including the Prime Minister’s Award and Ministerial Awards, 5 international awards such as from WHO and AFHC, and excellent evaluations both domestically and internationally, including the UNICEF Child-Friendly City higher-level certification and re-certification as a Women-Friendly City, recognizing the excellence of district administration.

In particular, the concept of ‘Spatial Welfare,’ which applies neuroarchitecture theory to administration, was implemented across various fields, receiving outstanding evaluations for these projects.

The ‘Ai·Mom Gangdong,’ a complex community space for infants and mothers established by region, won a Ministerial Award at the ‘Low Birthrate Response Best Practice Competition’ for creating user-customized spaces and operating diverse childcare support programs. Other excellent policies addressing low birthrate and aging issues include the 1st and 3rd generation shared space ‘Kkum Miso’ and the ‘Happy School’ project, which transforms unused school spaces into creative, demand-centered spaces involving students, parents, and teachers. These efforts earned the Prime Minister’s Award for Population Policy Merit.

Additionally, the book caf? library ‘Dadok Dadok,’ which aims to foster communication and community through books and tea, has been established regionally reflecting local characteristics and residents’ needs, receiving great enthusiasm from residents and favorable evaluations both domestically and internationally. This project won the Grand Prize at the ‘Library Policy Best Practice and Promotional Video Contest’ hosted by the Presidential Library and Information Policy Committee.

In the health and welfare sector, the district received a Ministerial Award in the ‘Visiting Health and Welfare Service Provision’ category and was selected as the best district in the ‘Local Government Problem-Solving Capacity Enhancement’ project for establishing resident-autonomous public services.

Despite the COVID-19 situation, the operation of the ‘Our Neighborhood Senior Care Team’ actively monitored vulnerable groups to ensure no one was left isolated, and the well-established operation of the ‘Care SOS Center’ for building a dense social and welfare safety net received high praise.

Moreover, the ‘Cheonho Aurum Center,’ equipped with ‘Cheonho Health Branch’ and ‘Single-Person Household Support Center’ in the old downtown area densely populated by vulnerable groups and single-person households, provides customized local services. The district’s pioneering systems such as the ‘Crisis Household Reporting Reward’ and ‘Hope Stepping Stone Fund’ expanded welfare responsibility from government to civil society, earning excellent evaluations.

In the healthy city sector, Gangdong-gu won a record five international awards. It received the ‘WHO Healthy City Award’ hosted by the World Health Organization under the UN for five consecutive years. At the ‘AFHC Healthy City Awards’ hosted by the Asia-Pacific Healthy Cities Federation, it won the grand prize in healthy city development and three projects?‘Moving Classroom, Healthy School’ for child obesity prevention, ‘Non-face-to-face Dementia Management Convergence Model,’ and ‘Sustainable Healthy City Gangdong (G-SDGs)’?received the ‘Creative Development Award for Healthy Cities,’ achieving four awards at one event.

Furthermore, proactive youth participation policies such as the ‘Youth Haenaem Center’ and ‘Gangdong Orang’ earned the comprehensive grand prize at the ‘Youth-Friendly Governance Awards’ and the Prime Minister’s Office Chief’s Award for ‘Youth Policy Merit.’ The district also received a ‘Special Award’ in the urban society category at the ‘Korea Urban Awards’ for expanding living infrastructure to improve sustainable quality of life.

Significant achievements were also made in public contest projects. The district saved 41 billion KRW in budget by being selected for the ‘Living SOC Complex Project’ including the Residents’ Hall and Advanced Complex Office Building, and the ‘Seoul Metropolitan Area Station Zone Revitalization Project.’ It also secured 3.4 billion KRW in budget through the ‘Eco-friendly Smart Energy City Project’ and the ‘Seoul Alleyway Regeneration Project.’

Lee Jeong-hoon, Mayor of Gangdong-gu, said, “Excellent evaluations both domestically and internationally continue following last year. I believe this is the result of the warm hearts of residents caring for neighbors in need and their active participation in district administration despite ongoing COVID-19 challenges.” He added, “We will continue to prepare policies that are truly necessary for residents through active communication with them.”

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