Why Did Park Gang-su, Mayor of Mapo-gu, Take a Bus to Go on a Communication Trip with Residents?

[Seoul District News] Park Gang-su, Mayor of Mapo-gu, to Operate 'On-site Mayor's Office' for Communication and Empathy Starting July 28 & Communication Day on Second Wednesday, Empathy Day on Fourth Wednesday Every Month

Park Gang-su, Mayor of Mapo-gu, getting off the 'On-site District Office' bus

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] For residents experiencing inconveniences and difficulties, there could be no cooler summer than if Mapo-gu actively resolves those concerns.

Mapo-gu (Mayor Park Gang-su) announced that it has launched a proactive communication administration to solve residents' difficulties and provide emotional relief spots.

They have started operating the ‘On-site Mayor’s Office,’ moving around with department heads, the audit officer, and team leaders from civil complaint-related departments using a bus.

Mayor Park Gang-su of Mapo-gu explained the background of implementing the ‘On-site Mayor’s Office’: “One hour of the mayor equals 380,000 hours when considering the 380,000 residents, so it is important to use this precious time effectively. For that, when the mayor comes to the field, it provides convenience to residents regarding civil complaints and allows listening to more complaints.”

Although initially planned to start at the end of August, the operation was moved up to July 28 to promptly address suggestions from the 16 neighborhood residents’ meetings held since July 15 and the inconveniences faced by complainants struggling with the ‘Moatown’ project in the Seongsan-dong area.

Mayor Park visited Seongsan 1-dong and visually confirmed the inconvenience of not being able to directly access Hongjecheon from Seongsan 1-dong, ordering related officials to expedite the installation of an access road.

He then moved to the area of 165 Seongsan-dong, selected as the Seoul Moatown contest site in 2022. This was to meet residents who were not included in the district, separated by a 5-meter-wide road from the 83,265㎡ Seongsan-dong Moatown candidate site.

Meeting with residents of the area, Mayor Park Gang-su said, “Seeing it on-site, including the areas excluded from the Seongsan-dong Moatown site in the project is expected to create good synergy, such as connecting adjacent main roads and streets.” He reassured residents worried about being excluded from Moatown by stating, “We will fully reflect residents’ opinions when conducting the management plan establishment service and re-examine the Moatown district.”

The ‘On-site Mayor’s Office’ holds a ‘Communication Day’ on the second Wednesday of every month, using the mayor’s bus to visit key points in each neighborhood to listen to civil complaints. Issues that can be resolved immediately are answered on-site to the complainants, and those requiring review are examined by the relevant departments and replied to under the name of the Mapo-gu mayor.

On the fourth Wednesday of every month, a ‘Empathy Day’ is held. The mayor visits local welfare, culture, tourism, construction sites, and vulnerable facilities to inspect the sites and participate in various field programs to directly observe what residents need.

Seong Young-bok, who experienced the ‘On-site Mayor’s Office’ in Seongsan 1-dong on the 28th, said, “Until now, from the complainant’s perspective, government offices felt hard to approach, but having the mayor come directly to the site and look into things makes me feel relieved as a resident.”

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