Geumcheon-gu Implements 10 Public-Private Partnership Projects This Year... Yangcheon-gu Launches Quick Delivery Service for Prescribed Medication to Home Treatment Patients

[Seoul District News] Geumcheon-gu Launches 10 Collaborative Projects Identified Through Geumcheon-gu Cooperation Council Public Deliberation; Public-Private Partnership Drives Policy Proposal, Implementation, and Evaluation to Solve Local Issues... Yangcheon-gu Operates Same-Day Quick Delivery Service for Prescribed Medicine via Delivery Specialists for Home Treatment Patients Confirmed in Single-Person or Family Households... Mapo-gu Mangwon 1-dong Offers ‘Anything Consultation Desk’ with Retired Public Officials Providing Expert Counseling... Gangseo-gu Heojun Museum Hosts Special Exhibition ‘Yesterday and Today of Epidemics’... Seodaemun-gu, One School Per...

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Geumcheon-gu (Mayor Yoo Seong-hoon) will officially start 10 cooperative governance projects in 5 fields selected by residents from April.

Cooperative governance projects refer to public-private collaborative projects in which residents and administration jointly identify local community issues, and residents actively participate in all processes of policy establishment, implementation, and evaluation to solve problems.

Geumcheon-gu enacted the 'Basic Ordinance on Public-Private Cooperative Governance' in 2017 and has built a cooperative network between the public and private sectors over the past five years, starting with the formation of the Geumcheon-gu Cooperative Governance Council.

The cooperative governance projects to be promoted this year were finally approved at the regular meeting of the Cooperative Governance Council after processes such as public forums and resident voting last year. The 10 projects include ▲Operation of Geumcheon Elementary Care Center ▲Let's all go to Anyangcheon as a family ▲Responding to the climate crisis with the village community ▲Making Geumcheon safe ▲Wise use of electric kickboards (PM) ▲Village Life University with foreign residents ▲Support project for AI companion robots for elderly living alone ▲Training facilitators for Geumcheon resident autonomy ▲Visiting social economy peddlers ▲Environmental improvement of Doksan-ro with residents.

The Geumcheon-gu Cooperative Governance Council will conduct monitoring of projects promoted this year, discover agendas for next year's project implementation, collect residents' opinions, and provide cooperative governance education.

To this end, Geumcheon-gu appointed local activists with diverse experiences as expansion committee members for each field in January.

Yoo Seong-hoon, Mayor of Geumcheon-gu, said, "Solving local community problems through public-private cooperation and residents' participation and empathy are revitalizing every corner of the region," adding, "We will actively support continuing the value of cooperative governance where residents participate from policy proposal to implementation and evaluation this year as well."

Inquiries can be made to the Geumcheon-gu Office's Village Autonomy Division.

Yangcheon-gu (Mayor Kim Soo-young) is operating a 'Quick Delivery Service for Prescribed Medicines for Home Treatment Patients' to protect the health of residents undergoing home treatment due to COVID-19 and to alleviate their anxiety.

Recently, the average daily number of COVID-19 home treatment patients in Yangcheon-gu was 3,522, an increase of 927 (about 36%) from 2,595 last week. As the number of home treatment patients has explosively increased, the number of deliveries where it is difficult to receive prescribed medicines on behalf of patients, such as single-person households or families where all members are confirmed positive, has also greatly increased from an average of 24 cases per day in January to about 330 cases recently.

Accordingly, Yangcheon-gu signed a contract with a delivery agency familiar with the local geography (Saenggakdaero Sinjeong 1 Branch) from the 2nd to quickly and efficiently deliver prescribed medicines for home treatment patients through quick service on the same day for non-face-to-face medical prescriptions.

The support target is home treatment patients who are single-person households or whose entire family is confirmed positive, making it impossible to receive prescribed medicines on their behalf. The operation method is that when medicine is prescribed at hospitals or clinics capable of non-face-to-face treatment, a home treatment promotion team staff member directly visits the designated pharmacy to collect the medicine, cross-checks the prescription list, labels the address, and then delivers it via quick service through the agency.

Prescribed medicines are delivered on the same day as a principle, and in urgent situations, they are directly delivered from the designated pharmacy to the patient's home within 30 minutes.

The district expects that by delivering COVID-19 prescribed medicines quickly through a delivery company familiar with the local area, it will greatly contribute to the recovery of home treatment patients' health and the alleviation of anxiety. Moreover, existing delivery personnel such as staff and temporary workers will be deployed to care for the intensive management group of home treatment patients, promoting smooth home treatment and achieving a dual effect.

Yangcheon-gu's quick delivery service for prescribed medicines was highlighted as a model case for COVID-19 response at the 'Video Conference of Autonomous District Mayors for COVID-19 Countermeasures' held on the 21st.

Kim Soo-young, Mayor of Yangcheon-gu, said, "The district's quick delivery service for prescribed medicines plays a significant role in alleviating symptoms and relieving anxiety for residents undergoing home treatment," adding, "As the spread of COVID-19 continues, timely delivery of prescribed medicines to the intensive management group of home treatment patients becomes more important, so we will do our best to support the delivery work of specialized companies so that residents under treatment can return to their daily lives in good health."

"For property tax consultations, you need to go to the district office," "For welfare consultations, please go over there." These are common phrases heard when visiting the community service center for civil complaints. However, such scenes cannot be seen in Mapo-gu. The secret is the 'Anything Consultation Desk.'

Mapo-gu (Mayor Yoo Dong-gyun) has been operating the 'Anything Consultation Desk,' a one-stop communication window, at 16 community service centers and the district office's Civil Affairs and Passport Division since February 2020, the first in the nation.

Public officials with rich administrative experience of grade 6 or higher provide administrative services without restrictions on the scope of work, from minor daily life complaints such as garbage disposal, noise, and disputes between neighbors to livelihood and welfare consultations, handling 864 various complaints last year.

This year, Mangwon 1-dong Community Service Center (Dongjang Han Kyung-mi) will introduce a specialized 'Anything Consultation Desk.' A retired public official with abundant experience and expertise will serve as a one-day consultant at Mangwon 1-dong's 'Anything Consultation Desk' on the fourth Thursday of odd months.

The former Director of Planning and Finance Bureau of Mapo-gu, currently on pre-retirement leave, will listen to residents' difficulties and seek solutions based on over 30 years of administrative experience.

Residents wishing to consult with the retired public official can visit Mangwon 1-dong Community Service Center between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. on the 24th for consultation. Complex complaints not resolved on the day will be followed up with administrative services.

Additionally, Mangwon 1-dong is building a 'One-Day Consultant Talent Pool' consisting of about 10 professionals capable of donating their expertise in law, architecture, real estate, and health fields. Based on this, from April, experts will serve as one-day consultants at the 'Anything Consultation Desk' on the fourth Thursday of even months.

Yoo Dong-gyun, Mayor of Mapo-gu, said, "The retired public official 'one-day consultant' will share know-how accumulated from working in various departments and serving as team leader, section chief, and director during this consultation, so I hope many people will use this service."

In the COVID-19 era, let's look at the efforts and wisdom of our ancestors to overcome infectious diseases through history.

Gangseo-gu, Seoul (Mayor Noh Hyun-song) announced that it will hold a special exhibition titled 'The Past and Present of Infectious Diseases' at the Heo Jun Museum.

The exhibition aims to raise awareness of infectious diseases and emphasize the importance of quarantine by exploring the history of infectious diseases and the efforts and wisdom of ancestors to overcome them.

This special exhibition is a joint project between the Heo Jun Museum and the National Folk Museum, consisting of four parts: ▲Medical books and records related to infectious diseases ▲Medical instruments for treating infectious diseases ▲Infectious diseases and medicinal herbs ▲Efforts to overcome infectious diseases.

The first part, 'Medical Books and Records Related to Infectious Diseases,' introduces the earliest records of infectious diseases appearing in classical texts such as the 'Samguk Sagi' and 'Byeokyeok Sinbang,' a medical book compiled by Heo Jun under royal command about treatments for infectious diseases called Dangdokyeok. The second part, 'Medical Instruments for Treating Infectious Diseases,' recreates a Joseon Dynasty herbal medicine shop and exhibits medical instruments used at the time, such as medicine cabinets, scales, and decoction pots.

The third part, 'Infectious Diseases and Medicinal Herbs,' introduces prescriptions and medicinal materials related to various infectious diseases and displays various actual medicinal materials. The fourth part, 'Efforts to Overcome Infectious Diseases,' introduces various smallpox treatment tools, including 'Jeyeong Sinpyeon' compiled by Lee Jae-ha in 1889 about smallpox (photo), and talismans made by the public to overcome infectious diseases.

Additionally, the exhibition hall displays current quarantine tools for overcoming COVID-19 and letters of support and encouragement postcards for medical staff.

In particular, for this special exhibition, the district borrowed various old medical instruments that are difficult to access, such as smallpox treatment tools, from the National Folk Museum, National Library of Korea, Seoul Yakryeongsi Korean Medicine Museum, Yonsei University College of Medicine Dong-eun Medical Museum, and Keimyung University Daegu Dongsan Hospital, allowing residents to view them directly.

The exhibition runs until October 2 on the 3rd floor planning exhibition hall of the Heo Jun Museum, and a non-face-to-face online exhibition is also held through the official YouTube channel of the Heo Jun Museum.

More detailed information about the exhibition can be found on the Heo Jun Museum website's notice section.

A district official said, "This special exhibition was prepared with the wishes of residents for overcoming COVID-19 and returning to daily life," adding, "It is a great opportunity to look at the wisdom of ancestors who overcame infectious diseases, so we hope many people will come and visit."

Besides this special exhibition, the Heo Jun Museum also offers various permanent exhibitions such as the Heo Jun Memorial Room and experiential programs like 'Making Natural Soap' and 'Making Donguibogam.' For detailed inquiries, contact the Gangseo-gu Office Culture and Sports Division or the Heo Jun Museum.

Myongji Elementary School Smart Classroom

Seodaemun-gu (Mayor Moon Seok-jin) decided to support 10 billion KRW in educational expense subsidies in 2022 to create a discrimination-free educational environment and build future-oriented educational infrastructure.

This is an increase of 5 billion KRW compared to last year and is the second-largest amount among the 25 autonomous districts in Seoul.

Moreover, including 'meal project expenses' and 'education benefits,' Seodaemun-gu's total 'educational institution subsidy' budget this year averages about 389 million KRW per elementary, middle, and high school, the highest among Seoul's autonomous districts. In terms of average support per student, it ranks second at 666,000 KRW.

Previously, the district has been striving to eliminate educational gaps and restore public education capacity since 2020 to proactively respond to the rapidly changing educational environment after COVID-19.

It was the first autonomous district in Seoul to establish wireless internet networks in all schools within the district, supporting electronic blackboards for schools and smart devices for students to create a digital learning environment.

Additionally, to resolve digital capability polarization and create youth jobs in the education field, it started the nation's first digital tutor dispatch project.

Last month, the district held an educational expense subsidy review committee and decided to support 353 projects among those applied by 22 kindergartens and 41 elementary, middle, and high schools in the region.

These include ▲Establishment of 'Future Creative Learning Spaces,' specialized classrooms related to the 4th Industrial Revolution such as artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and robots ▲Operation of 'Smart Libraries' and 'Home Base Spaces' where learning and play can be done simultaneously ▲Support for installing 'air purification devices' to reduce harmful substances in school cafeterias.

It also supports budgets for basic academic ability improvement, teacher capacity building, school specialization programs, climate crisis, and ecological transition education to fill learning gaps caused by the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.

Furthermore, 'quarantine support funds' will be provided to each elementary, middle, high school, and kindergarten to ensure students' safe and healthy school life.

Moon Seok-jin, Mayor of Seodaemun-gu, said, "In the era of local autonomy, it is necessary to provide proactive support for nurturing future talents without limiting the role of autonomous districts," adding, "We will continue to do our best to support better quality education in schools."

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