[Interview] Seong Jang-hyun, Yongsan District Mayor: "We Will Transform into a '4 Major Friendly City' for Women, Children, Seniors, and Youth"

Last Year’s Achievements in Women, Child, and Senior-Friendly City Certification... Selected as an Excellent Basic Local Government for the Youth-Friendly Governance Award... District Mayor Seong Hyun Growth: "We Will Create a Generation-Consensus Friendly City"

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] “Last year, Yongsan-gu received certifications as a women-, child-, and senior-friendly city from the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, UNICEF, and the World Health Organization (WHO), respectively. It was also selected as an excellent basic local government for the National Assembly Secretariat’s Youth-Friendly Legislative Award. Building on this, in the new year, we will develop Yongsan into a ‘4 Major Friendly City’ that resonates with all generations.”

Yongsan District Mayor Seong Jang-hyun introduced the district’s new year policy direction in an interview with this publication.

This appears to reflect his intention to place greater focus on ‘people.’ Mayor Seong stated, “Over the past 12 years of my term, the external growth of the region has been achieved to some extent,” adding, “During the remaining period, we will implement more detailed life-friendly policies.”

The district will first concentrate on women’s policies. Aiming to become a gender-equal city, a city where women can work well, a safe city, a family culture city, and a harmonious city, it plans to carry out about 30 projects over the next five years. In particular, the district will regularly review gender-discriminatory elements in its policies and enhance the ‘gender sensitivity’ of residents and public officials. Additionally, to expand opportunities for women experts’ social participation, it will operate its own ‘women’s talent pool’ and diversify women’s employment and entrepreneurship programs. The district will also continue to implement safe return home routes, women’s safety home sets, and crime prevention environmental design projects (CPTED).

Mayor Seong said, “We will also expand programs for marriage immigrant women and multicultural families, as well as support projects to build social networks for single-person households.”

The district is also accelerating the creation of a child-friendly city. By 2024, it plans to implement 21 projects including training and dispatching child rights instructors, operating shared childcare spaces and open childcare rooms, career and job experience programs, and neighborhood alley playgrounds, aiming to achieve the five child-friendly goals: children respected as citizens, children freely expressing opinions, children enjoying social services, children living safely, and children playing to their heart’s content.

Mayor Seong emphasized, “Children are independent individuals who must be respected as they are. A city without the laughter of children has no future. The district will do its best to make children happier.”

The senior-friendly city is Mayor Seong’s ‘trademark.’ In 2015, Yongsan became the first district in Seoul to establish Senior Citizens’ Day (the third Saturday of May). It received positive responses with various celebratory performances, food, and experience programs. On the site of the former Gyeonggi-do district citizens’ recreation center, a dementia-specialized elderly care facility will be built with four buildings (basement 2 to 3 floors above ground), totaling 7,422㎡.

Mayor Seong Jang-hyun said, “We are steadily implementing 45 strategic projects across five major areas,” adding, “We will guarantee the elderly’s later years in various ways such as customized care services by region, installation of convenience facilities at subway stations, support for senior jobs and social activities, and payment of longevity congratulatory funds.”

New year youth projects include establishing a youth activity base, operating a youth startup support center, and enhancing youth employment competitiveness. The youth policy network launched in 2021 will be revitalized, and a ‘Youth Week’ event will be held around September. Employment competitiveness will also be strengthened through metaverse job lectures, company exploration teams, and workplace experience programs for the MZ generation.

Mayor Seong said, “Using a job fund worth 12 billion KRW, we have continuously carried out public-private cooperative job projects and youth enterprise loan projects,” adding, “The Youth Startup Support Center, opened in 2020, will serve as a forward base for startups, covering startup education, item discovery, network formation, and marketing support.”

Additionally, the district will complete the Yongsan History Museum, the largest pledge project of the 7th local government, and proceed sequentially with projects such as constructing the Veterans Hall in Itaewon-dong, installing the Yongsan Jeju Youth Camp, building a Smart City infrastructure, establishing the Metaverse Yongsan Craft Center, issuing Yongsan Love Gift Certificates worth 50 billion KRW, installing a pedestrian bridge between Yongsan Station and Dragon City Hotel, constructing a multi-level public parking lot in Haebangchon, and developing the entire underground space of Yongsan Station.

Mayor Seong Jang-hyun emphasized, “This year, the district budget is the highest ever at 575.9 billion KRW,” adding, “We will maximize the district’s capabilities in welfare, education, culture, environment, and other fields.”

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