Sogangseok, Songpa-gu Mayor, Transition Committee Proposes Cutting Over 11.1 Billion Won in Unnecessary Budget Items

Establishment of Urban Modernization Bureau Dedicated to Rapid Promotion of Reconstruction and Redevelopment, Resident Satisfaction and Work-Centered Organizational Restructuring... Final Plan Discussed at Transition Committee Report Meeting, Budget and Organization to be Submitted to Council by End of August After District Mayor's Approval

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] With Seogang-seok, Mayor of Songpa-gu, the outline of the district administration for the next four years has emerged, and a strong start is expected.

The Songpa-gu Mayor Transition Committee (Chairman Hwan Han, former Director of the Korea Local Administration Institute) held a work report meeting on the 12th in the district office's large conference room to conclude 10 days of transition activities. They engaged in in-depth discussions on campaign promises, budget, and organizational restructuring, proposing key points including the reduction of unnecessary budgets by approximately 11.15 billion KRW.

The main highlights of the full transition committee meeting, attended by Mayor Seogang-seok, were ▲cutting 4.715 billion KRW from 47 wasteful, urgent, or unclear performance projects ▲reviewing the feasibility of the top 10 major campaign promises (90 projects) ▲maximizing resident satisfaction and reorganizing departments and teams by merging and abolishing units based on work-centered operations.

Specifically, the major budget cuts include ▲210 million KRW for village enterprises, village community contest projects, and resident autonomy pilot projects ▲910 million KRW for projects related to the Songpa Dulle-gil trail ▲720 million KRW for suspending the operation of the eco-friendly public meal center (with consideration for meal subsidy support instead) ▲100 million KRW for the deck path service fee at Seokchon Lake, totaling approximately 11.15 billion KRW.

The newly allocated or additionally invested funds from the reduced budget include ▲2.78 billion KRW for honorariums for national veterans ▲150 million KRW for consolation money for Korean War veterans ▲63 million KRW for activity and living assistance allowances for low-income disabled persons and elderly living alone.

Additionally, 6.27 billion KRW will be invested in key projects such as ▲40 million KRW for the comprehensive plan establishment service fee for creating a premium street on Songpa-daero ▲1.34 billion KRW for improving the poor working conditions of sanitation workers.

This outcome reflects Mayor Seogang-seok’s inaugural speech statement: “There will never be any arbitrary use of the taxpayers’ hard-earned money or wasteful projects and unnecessary positions that serve no one.” Particularly, the nature of the newly invested budget from the cuts demonstrates the mayor’s philosophy of prioritizing respect and consideration for national veterans who have devoted themselves to the country, socially vulnerable groups, and marginalized communities.

Furthermore, regarding the 90 unit projects within the top 10 major campaign promises of the 8th elected term of Mayor Seogang-seok, a thorough review by relevant departments confirmed 79 projects to proceed as planned, 6 to be modified, 3 to continue discussions, and 2 for additional review.

Regarding 154 requests and orders from transition committee members, the departments’ review results showed 65 to be immediately reflected, 63 planned for reflection, 11 requiring coordination with other agencies, and 15 for mid- to long-term review. A total of 128 items will be implemented immediately, and the remaining will be actively reviewed.

Notably, among the transition committee’s requests are ▲objective and professional evaluations such as employee performance appraisals ▲reconsideration of the resident autonomy council pilot project ▲establishment of advanced administration for the 4th industrial revolution ▲conducting long-term financial forecasts to establish a sound and efficient financial management foundation ▲discovering policies for creating a women-friendly city ▲developing specialized tourism attraction projects through networks with private organizations and related institutions.

Also included are ▲activation of flexible parking enforcement and green parking projects ▲reduction of calcium chloride usage ▲changing the operation of renewable energy solar power plants from consignment to direct management ▲introduction of fine dust measurement maps and other pinpoint countermeasures ▲plans to expand electric vehicle rapid chargers. The transition committee’s requests cover a broad range from boosting employee morale to establishing macro-level financial management.

Alongside this, organizational restructuring to support “A Revitalized Songpa, District Administration of Creativity and Innovation” is planned. This includes changing department and team names that residents find unclear, adjusting and reviewing each department’s tasks, and significantly merging and abolishing inappropriate functions to align with organizational roles.

Specifically, to expedite civil complaint processing, a Civil Administration Division will be established to build a one-stop civil complaint processing system at a level comparable to the private sector. A new Urban Modernization Bureau will be created by separating and adjusting similar functions to handle reconstruction, redevelopment, and remodeling projects. An Education and Culture Bureau will be established to guarantee students’ learning and commuting rights and promote residents’ sports activities. The Culture and Sports Division will be split into the Culture and Arts Division and the Sports for Life Division. Notably, a Strategic Development Planning Team will be newly established as a dedicated organization to solidly promote these campaign promises and key projects.

Among the transition committee’s work report contents, campaign promises will be finalized by the end of October after collecting opinions from the campaign promise implementation evaluation team. The budget and organizational restructuring plans will be submitted to the district council by the end of August through the mayor’s policy, and will be implemented upon approval.

Mayor Seogang-seok said in his greeting, “It feels like just yesterday that I was elected and the transition committee was formed, but a month has already passed. People say the Songpa-gu transition committee is like the Seoul city transition committee. We invited experts including scholars and professors from various fields who provided deep insights and experience fitting their reputations. We listened to the opinions of department heads and reduced the budget by about 11.1 billion KRW to prepare a supplementary budget. The organizational restructuring plan was also derived appropriately from the perspectives of scholars and administrative practitioners.”

He added, “While improving and developing the pointed-out issues, I consider today’s final report meeting as a new beginning. I want to continue inviting the committee members as advisory professors for Songpa district administration.”

In particular, Mayor Seogang-seok encouraged, “Public officials worked very hard reviewing and preparing materials. Although the campaign promises were classified as planned for reflection or long-term review, I believe that if reviewed straightforwardly, they can be implemented immediately.” He urged an active attitude. Finally, he concluded, “An elected position is not a title. Titles are given by those in power, but elected positions are sent by the 670,000 sovereign residents of Songpa-gu. I will not lose my initial resolve and will take infinite responsibility for the residents of Songpa.”

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