Dongjak-gu Establishes Plan to Improve 'Anti-Corruption and Integrity' for Spreading Integrity Culture

[Seoul District News] Dongjak-gu forms 24 teams in charge of integrity including ▲Construction Management ▲Subsidy Support ▲Tax and Fiscal Affairs ▲Permits to prepare for this year's Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission integrity evaluation, discussing diagnosis and measures for external integrity improvement... Jongno Hanbok Development Direction Forum held... Yangcheon-gu opens public recruitment for '2022 Resident Participation Supervisors'

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Dongjak-gu (Mayor Lee Chang-woo) is diagnosing and supplementing areas for improvement on its own based on last year's public institution integrity evaluation results conducted by the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission to spread a culture of integrity.

On the afternoon of the 14th, the district held an ‘Integrity Improvement TF Team Meeting’ with department heads in charge of corruption-vulnerable areas at the Planning Situation Room on the 3rd floor of the district office, according to a report on the 16th.

The TF team consists of 24 teams responsible for four areas subject to integrity measurement: construction management, subsidy support, finance and taxation, and permits and approvals. It functions to analyze vulnerable areas by task, derive improvement plans, and discover special projects for enhancing integrity through collaboration.

This meeting was the first in preparation for this year’s integrity evaluation, with the deputy mayor and relevant department heads focusing on enhancing transparency, proactiveness, and responsibility in district work to secure residents’ trust and achieve zero corruption experience rates.

Accordingly, the district will respond kindly during work processes and double-check for any additional matters after task completion. It will also operate a communication system at each work stage, including sending integrity postcards and letters and monitoring, to improve integrity.

Additionally, the district promotes various projects to spread a culture of integrity and proactiveness, such as regular integrity education for all employees, a pre-consultation system for proactive administration, and incentives for outstanding proactive public officials. On the 7th, ‘Integrity and Proactive Administration Education’ was conducted for new public officials taking their first steps in public service.

Yoo Jae-cheon, the audit officer, emphasized, “We will continue to handle work transparently and proactively internally and spread a culture of integrity to become an institution trusted by residents. We will do our best to form a consensus on integrity culture with the local community.”

Last year, the district achieved the highest grade among autonomous districts for three consecutive years, ranking 2nd in the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission’s integrity measurement conducted on 592 public institutions.

This year, the district plans to implement various integrity policies through participation and communication, such as establishing an operational foundation for the conflict of interest prevention system and operating a ‘mobile anonymous reporting channel’ for reporting corrupt acts and irregularities by public officials, by establishing a ‘Comprehensive Integrity Policy Promotion Plan.’

Jongno-gu held a ‘Jongno Hanbok Development Direction Forum’ at Cheongun Literature Library on the 11th to discuss ways to revitalize hanbok culture.

Hosted by Jongno-gu and organized by the Jongno Cultural Foundation, the forum proceeded under the theme ‘Directions and Tasks for Revitalizing Hanbok Culture,’ including an introduction to the forum, screening of highlights from the Jongno Hanbok Festival, individual expert speeches, a comprehensive discussion, and deliberation on the development direction of hanbok.

Speakers included ▲Kim Mun-ja, director of the Hanbok Authentication Research Institute (emeritus professor of clothing at Suwon University) ▲Lee Hye-mi, CEO of Saimdang by Lee Hye-mi ▲Lee Seung-joo, CEO of Dasigom ▲Kim Ri-eul, CEO of Rieul ▲Lee Kang-hee, founder of the university alliance hanbok club ‘Gonryongpo.’

They exchanged opinions on the development direction of the hanbok festival, authentication of hanbok’s traditional aspects, and modern modifications, and also emphasized the need to diversify hanbok education and related programs for local residents.

Since 2016, Jongno-gu has held the Jongno Hanbok Festival every autumn. To raise nationwide interest in hanbok, the district has continuously worked toward normalizing hanbok culture by holding hanbok forums, collecting opinions, and proposing revisions to the Cultural Heritage Administration’s hanbok guidelines for palace admission.

Last year, in line with the 2021 Spring Hanbok Culture Week designated by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, a hanbok talk concert was held at Mugyewon, a traditional cultural space in Buam-dong. The event, themed ‘Hanbok, Coexistence,’ featured actress and singer Jeon Hyo-sung sharing stories about the 3.1 Independence Movement Day New York Times Square hanbok advertisement project, receiving enthusiastic responses.

Moreover, living up to its reputation as the number one place for Korean (Han) culture, Jongno-gu leads efforts to revitalize traditional culture such as hanbok, hanok, Korean cuisine, Hangul, Korean traditional music, and dance. Since 2013, it has operated a monthly ‘Employee Hanbok Wearing Day’ to encourage wearing hanbok and runs the ‘Gopda Hanbok Experience Center’ to provide residents with hanbok experience and related educational opportunities.

Furthermore, the district enacted the ‘Hanbok Revitalization Ordinance’ to establish an institutional foundation for smoothly implementing related policies. In October 2021, it introduced hanbok work uniforms, sparking positive reactions nationwide. Jongno-gu was the first among basic local governments to introduce hanbok work uniforms and the second among public institutions after the National Hangeul Museum.

A district official stated, “With hanbok appearing at the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony, nationwide controversy continues. At times like this, it is important to continuously create opportunities to reflect on the value of our traditional clothing and discuss ways to ‘normalize’ traditional hanbok, which embodies the unique beauty of our ethnicity, so it can be comfortably worn in daily life.”

Yangcheon-gu (Mayor Kim Soo-young) announced that it will publicly recruit 12 people to participate as ‘Resident Participation Supervisors’ in seven local construction projects, including road paving, until February 24.

‘Resident Participation Supervisors’ are resident representatives with certain qualifications appointed to supervise all processes of public construction projects closely related to residents’ lives, costing over 30 million KRW, such as water and sewage projects and village access road development. They monitor illegal or improper acts, demand corrections, and actively reflect residents’ opinions and difficulties related to the construction to the district.

Applicants must reside in the project area and meet one of the following: ▲resident representatives with knowledge of the construction field such as Saemaul leaders or women’s association heads in the area ▲holders of national certificates related to the construction project ▲those with over one year of experience in site management, supervision, or inspection in the relevant industry.

The application deadline is February 24. Interested applicants should check the project location (dong) on the district office website’s public notice board, then submit the application form and related supporting documents in person to the relevant dong community service center. The application must be submitted with the recommendation and signature seal of the project area’s tongjang (neighborhood chief).

The district will comprehensively consider expertise (certifications, experience), length of residence in the area, and local interest to notify applicants individually of the final selection results.

Selected Resident Participation Supervisors will be appointed and deployed as site supervisors from March, considering the start times of each construction project.

For more details about Resident Participation Supervisors, contact the Finance Department.

Yangcheon-gu Mayor Kim Soo-young said, “With the full enforcement of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act, we expect to raise awareness through Resident Participation Supervisors and thoroughly oversee the entire construction process to ensure safe and transparent projects. We encourage many interested individuals to apply for the Resident Participation Supervisor recruitment for a safe Yangcheon-gu free from poor construction.”

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