Gwanak-gu, Gwanaksan Wildfire Prevention Campaign and Suppression Drill Simulation

[Seoul District News] Gwanak-gu Campaign Activities for Wildfire Prevention in Dry Weather, Joint Wildfire Suppression Drill by Gwanak-gu Office and Gwanak Fire Station ... Mapo-gu Resolves Parking Shortage through Shared Parking Activation ... Yeongdeungpo-gu Offers Local Tax Refund Consultations via KakaoTalk ... Jongno-gu Conducts Earthquake-Resistant Reinforcement Training and Education ... Yangcheon-gu Recruits New Members for the 22nd Youth District Evaluation Group

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Gwanak-gu (Mayor Park Jun-hee) conducted a wildfire prevention campaign and a wildfire suppression simulation drill around the 2nd Plaza of Gwanaksan Mountain on the 7th.

This drill focused on wildfire prevention campaign activities and simulation training to strengthen on-site response capabilities for forest fire suppression during the special large wildfire countermeasure period in spring (‘22.3.5.~4.17.).

In particular, due to the recent consecutive large wildfires, Mayor Park Jun-hee personally participated this year to patrol and inspect the site directly, simultaneously conducting wildfire prevention campaign activities to lead efforts in raising awareness for wildfire prevention during spring.

Gwanak-gu and Gwanak Fire Station jointly patrolled key inspection areas and conducted a wildfire suppression simulation drill using firefighting vehicles, backpack pumps, and other equipment, assuming a wildfire occurrence around the 2nd Plaza of Gwanaksan Mountain.

Mayor Park, who participated in the drill, said, “Due to climate change, dry weather continues, and even a small spark can develop into a large forest fire, so caution regarding wildfire occurrence is necessary. For the safety of residents, please strengthen preventive patrols and monitoring activities to thoroughly prevent wildfire accidents.”

The district has established and operates wildfire prevention headquarters during the high-risk spring and autumn wildfire seasons, supporting wildfire occurrence sites, monitoring wildfires, and operating and managing specialized wildfire prevention and suppression teams. It is also building a wildfire prevention system through cooperation with related organizations.

Additionally, during the wildfire caution period, the district continuously conducts publicity activities to block wildfire causes in advance, such as managing and educating visitors, conducting campaigns, posting banners, and distributing resident action guidelines.

A district official said, “Wildfire accidents often lead to large fires, so prevention is most important. Always keep wildfire prevention in mind when hiking, and if you discover a wildfire, immediately report it to the district office or 119.”

Mapo-gu (Mayor Yoo Dong-gyun) announced that it will activate the ‘Shared Parking Project’ to alleviate parking difficulties in the urban area. The district has been implementing a ‘two-track’ strategy of ‘public parking lot construction’ and ‘shared parking activation project’ to solve illegal parking problems and secure parking spaces in alleyways.

Among these, the ‘Shared Parking Activation Project,’ which secures immediately usable parking spaces by utilizing private parking lots, consists of three types: ▲sharing resident-priority parking lots ▲support for opening affiliated parking lots ▲alley shared parking project.

The ‘Sharing Resident-Priority Parking Lots’ project allows the 3,696 on-street resident-priority parking lot assignees in Mapo-gu to register shared time on their assigned spaces through the ‘Everyone’s Parking Lot’ app, making these spaces available to any citizen in need of parking.

Starting with Hapjeong-dong in 2018, on-street resident-priority parking lots have been opened for sharing, and since January this year, sharing and usage are available across all 16 neighborhoods in Mapo-gu.

Assignees who register their spaces as shared receive 30% of the parking revenue as mileage points in the ‘Everyone’s Parking Lot’ app, and from this year, additional points will be awarded to sharers when assigning resident-priority parking spaces to encourage participation.

The ‘Support for Opening Affiliated Parking Lots’ project encourages schools, religious facilities, and companies to open their parking lots. Currently, 25 private organizations in Mapo-gu have opened affiliated parking lots, providing 1,546 spaces to citizens free or for a fee.

When opening affiliated parking lots as resident-priority parking, participants can receive up to 25 million KRW in facility improvement costs or compensation for parking lot operation revenue, as well as benefits such as reductions in traffic inducement charges.

From this year, the support for facility improvement costs upon extension of opening has increased from a maximum of 5 million KRW to 7 million KRW, and support is now available for small-scale building affiliated parking lots (3 to less than 5 spaces), expecting increased participation.

While the affiliated parking lot opening support project mainly targets participation by companies or organizations, the ‘Alley Shared Parking Project’ focuses on opening idle parking spaces owned by individual alleyway parking lot owners.

Providers of parking spaces can receive 70% of the usage fee for the shared parking space and receive support for painting shared parking spaces and installing guide signs. Users can pay in 30-minute increments through the ‘Everyone’s Parking Lot’ app to use the parking spaces.

Started in 2020 from a resident’s proposal, the project currently operates 36 locations with 49 spaces. From 2020 to 2021, a total of 20,921 uses were recorded, with usage increasing by 548% in one year, showing high response from residents and visitors.

From this year, the project has transitioned from a co-governance project funded by Seoul City to a fully Mapo-gu funded independent project, signing business agreements with private parking sharing companies to provide stable services to both sharers and users.

For detailed inquiries, contact the Mapo-gu Office Traffic Guidance Division.

Meanwhile, the district is expanding parking infrastructure through the other part of the ‘two-track’ strategy, ‘public parking lot construction.’ It is promoting the construction of public parking lots with 132 spaces in Ahyeon 2 District redevelopment area, 96 spaces on the site of Ssangma Villa in Yeonnam-dong, 25 spaces at Ssangdungi Children’s Park, and 128 spaces at Saetteo Neighborhood Park.

Mayor Yoo Dong-gyun of Mapo-gu said, “We are making multifaceted efforts to secure parking lots to absorb vehicles like a sponge. We will take the lead in solving alleyway parking problems and spreading a culture of sharing through the activation of the shared parking project.”

Yeongdeungpo-gu (Mayor Chae Hyun-il) has launched and begun full operation of a KakaoTalk channel that allows easy application and consultation for local tax refunds via smartphone.

With the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic increasing demand for non-face-to-face administration, the channel uses the most popular SNS platform, KakaoTalk, to provide safer and more convenient tax administration services.

Taxpayers who found the previous in-person or phone consultation methods inconvenient due to time and location constraints can now easily handle non-face-to-face consultations and local tax refund procedures anytime and anywhere.

To use the service, search for ‘Yeongdeungpo-gu Local Tax Refund’ or ‘Yeongdeungpo-gu Local Tax Consultation’ in the KakaoTalk search bar.

For local tax refund services, users can also scan the QR code on the refund notice to access the service. By sending their name, refund number, and bank account number for the refund in a 1:1 chat room, the application is received by the staff, who verify it and transfer the refund to the bank account within 2-3 business days.

Since refunds can be applied for conveniently 24 hours a day, it is expected to reduce the relatively low-interest small unclaimed refunds.

The local tax consultation channel is available to anyone during weekday business hours. Through real-time chat, users can receive guidance on all aspects of local taxes, such as payment timing and methods. However, due to the anonymous nature of the chat, consultations involving personal information or tax information protection are excluded.

The district has added a chatbot function to provide automatic responses for frequently asked questions outside business hours and plans to continuously update new local tax news.

The KakaoTalk local tax consultation service operates from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays. Inquiries left on weekends or holidays will be answered during consultation hours.

Mayor Chae Hyun-il of Yeongdeungpo-gu said, “By actively utilizing KakaoTalk, the most familiar SNS channel, in tax administration, we will strengthen non-face-to-face communication with taxpayers. We will strive to provide various services suitable for the smart era to enhance taxpayer convenience.”

Jongno-gu has established the ‘2022 Earthquake Disaster Prevention Implementation Plan’ and is making multifaceted efforts to minimize damage to residents’ lives and property in unpredictable disaster situations.

Following last year, the plan sets six major areas and ten detailed tasks, including related education and training. Especially this year, it plans to newly implement discussion training to check the roles of related department staff and strengthen disaster response capabilities.

The 2022 Earthquake Disaster Prevention Implementation Plan includes ▲earthquake drills and education ▲improvement and updating of earthquake disaster manuals ▲management of outdoor earthquake evacuation sites ▲education and support system establishment for risk assessment of earthquake-damaged facilities ▲seismic reinforcement construction based on seismic performance evaluation ▲and surveys on the status of seismic reinforcement of public facilities (buildings).

First, earthquake drills focus on informing that the Korean Peninsula is no longer a safe zone from earthquakes, citing the largest recorded earthquakes in Gyeongju and Pohang, emphasizing knowledge of action guidelines and initial response methods for practical team members.

Additionally, education to raise residents’ safety awareness and staff expertise will be continuously conducted, and earthquake preparedness citizen action guideline content will be actively promoted on the district office website and SNS.

Moreover, depending on the COVID-19 situation, face-to-face earthquake drills including residents as well as staff are planned, and seismic reinforcement projects will be promoted to increase the seismic rate of public facilities (Sajik Daycare Center).

Last year, Jongno-gu conducted a large-scale inspection of 90 outdoor earthquake evacuation sites (45 sites each in the first and second halves) within the district, comprehensively reviewing site suitability, signboard operation status, and installation requirements. During Earthquake Safety Week in September, posters were posted on the district office website and 17 community centers, and leaflets containing action guidelines were distributed.

A district official said, “To create an earthquake-safe community, it is important for central ministries and local governments to unite to establish a solid response system and secure facility safety, but it is also essential for each resident to learn action guidelines. We will continuously operate substantial drills and education to prepare for unexpected disaster situations.”

Yangcheon-gu (Mayor Kim Soo-young) is recruiting 150 new members on a first-come, first-served basis for the ‘22nd Youth District Evaluation Group’ until March 18.

The Youth District Evaluation Group is a project that promotes district development through various activities such as proposing ideas for improving district systems from the youth perspective and monitoring major youth-related events and programs.

The 21st Youth District Evaluation Group, active last year, proposed a total of 174 opinions for district development. By category, these included ▲61 on transportation ▲36 on parks and green spaces ▲27 on civil engineering and flood control ▲11 on education and culture. Their fresh perspectives and voices greatly contributed to resolving residents’ inconveniences and district development.

The recruitment target for the 22nd Youth District Evaluation Group is youth aged 9 to 18 who reside in Yangcheon-gu or attend elementary, middle, or high schools located in Yangcheon-gu.

Youth wishing to participate can apply on a first-come, first-served basis through the integrated reservation portal on the Yangcheon-gu Office website by March 18. Applicants must sign up and log in with their own youth ID on the district office website before applying.

Appointed members will be active for one year from April 1, 2022, to March 31, 2023. The district will review members’ activity records (number of proposals) to grant volunteer service credits and award commendations from the district mayor to outstanding members.

For detailed information regarding recruitment for the 22nd Youth District Evaluation Group, contact the Audit Officer.

Mayor Kim Soo-young of Yangcheon-gu said, “I believe the fresh and creative ideas of youth, which are invisible from an adult’s perspective, will be a solid foundation for Yangcheon-gu’s development. I hope many students will participate in the recruitment of the 22nd Youth District Evaluation Group, who will create a better tomorrow for Yangcheon-gu through interest in the region and careful observation.”

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