[Interview] Park Junhee, Gwanak-gu Mayor, "Making Every Effort to Strengthen the Self-Sustainability and Competitiveness of Local Garment Small Manufacturers"

Selected for Seoul City Clothing Manufacturing Work Environment Improvement Support Project for 3 consecutive years since 2019, supporting 82 companies... Enhanced competitiveness through 2021 Seoul-style Clothing Manufacturing Collaboration Support including joint brand development and website construction... Created sustainable garment sewing industry ecosystem by establishing shared infrastructure in Urban Small-scale Manufacturers Cluster Zone

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] “To strengthen the self-sustainability and competitiveness of local small-scale garment sewing manufacturers, we have not only supported improvements in working conditions and collaboration among companies but also established the district’s first shared infrastructure for small-scale manufacturers in the concentrated area.”

Park Junhee, Mayor of Gwanak-gu, stated in an interview with this publication, “We hope the garment sewing industry will overcome the prolonged slump caused by COVID-19, regain vitality, and rise as a key pillar of the local economy.”

The district has been selected for the ‘Seoul City Working Environment Improvement Support Project’ for three consecutive years from 2019 to 2021, providing a safe and comfortable working environment and serving as a strong support for small-scale garment manufacturers.

The ‘Seoul-style Garment Manufacturing Working Environment Improvement Support Project’ provides supplies to improve the environment of garment manufacturing companies working under poor conditions such as insufficient lighting and ventilation, aging facilities, and dust generated during manufacturing processes, thereby enhancing the competitiveness of the garment manufacturing industry.

Over three years, the project supported the improvement of working environments for 82 garment manufacturing companies by providing industrial vacuum cleaners, LED lighting for better working conditions, fire extinguishers and fire detectors for safety management, as well as equipment necessary for improving work efficiency such as spreading machines and cutting tables.

Mayor Park said, “Through various environment improvement support policies, we are helping small-scale garment manufacturers working in small and aging workplaces to work in safer and more comfortable environments,” adding that this has greatly contributed to improving work efficiency and productivity.

Last year, the district was also finally selected for the ‘2021 Seoul-style Garment Manufacturing Collaboration Support Project’ announced by Seoul City. Through collaboration among 29 companies of the Gwanak Fashion Sewing Association, the project supports joint brand development, website construction, sample development and production, online promotion and marketing, enhancing market competitiveness and expanding order acquisition by discovering new business models reflecting changes in consumer environments.

Mayor Park explained, “Being selected for this project provided an opportunity to pioneer sales channels for the garment manufacturing industry, which had been limited to offline, by adopting a new business model through online channels.”

In particular, on February 24, the district established the ‘Gwanak-gu Small-scale Garment Sewing Collaboration Center,’ a shared infrastructure facility for the urban small-scale manufacturer concentrated area in the Sinsa, Jowon, and Miseong-dong districts, and began full-scale operation from March.

The ‘Gwanak-gu Small-scale Garment Sewing Collaboration Center’ was created to promote organization and collaboration among small-scale manufacturers, revitalize the concentrated area, and enhance competitiveness. Inside the center are ▲spreading room and CAD room ▲education room and pattern room ▲shared workshop, equipped with special equipment such as spreading machines, pattern CAD, and sewing machines, which require high initial investment or are difficult for general small-scale manufacturers to operate.

Additionally, the center supports various programs for local small-scale manufacturers, including use of the shared workshop, capacity-building education, consulting, building a network of small-scale manufacturers in the concentrated area, joint brand and product development for garment sewing small-scale manufacturers, and market channel development.

Mayor Park emphasized, “The center is equipped with expensive garment automation equipment that most small businesses found burdensome to purchase, which is expected to help resolve the ongoing labor shortage and greatly assist in financial management,” adding, “We will continue to actively support the self-sustainability and growth of local merchants by developing various contents for them, supporting facility improvements for each store, and organizing and operating commercial district management organizations.”

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