Park Gang-su, Mayor of Mapo District, Conversations with Employees at 'Town Hall Meeting' on 50th Day of Inauguration?

On the 26th, freely communicating with employees at Mapo District Office, sharing the mayor's vision and philosophy & discussing employee welfare improvement, freely asking and answering personal questions to the mayor

Park Gang-su, Mayor of Mapo District Office, talking with employees at the 'Town Hall Meeting' held at Mapo District Office on the 26th.

'Town Hall Meeting' held at Mapo-gu Office on the 26th

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] “I envy employees who have worked for over 10 years when I see them taking long-term leave.”

This was a comment mixed with envy from a Mapo-gu employee during the ‘Town Hall Meeting’ held in Mapo-gu on the 26th.

Park Gang-su, Mayor of Mapo-gu, quoted U.S. President Abraham Lincoln’s words, “If I were told to cut down a tree in one hour, I would spend 45 minutes sharpening the axe,” and said, “I believe that both work and leisure should be done efficiently to achieve results based on concentration. We will actively consider granting long-term leave for employees who have worked for more than five years.”

Mayor Park Gang-su held a ‘Town Hall Meeting’ with about 40 Mapo-gu employees to mark 50 days since his inauguration as the 8th elected mayor.

A ‘Town Hall Meeting’ is a meeting format designed for open communication in a relaxed atmosphere, where anyone can ask questions to decision-makers on any topic, and anyone can respond.

Having declared “real communication” at his inauguration, Mayor Park accelerated communication with residents through initiatives like the ‘365 Resident Communication Phone’ and the ‘On-site Mayor’s Office,’ and this time, he engaged in communication with employees.

The meeting began with Mayor Park sharing his vision for the 8th elected term and his philosophy for district administration. He then introduced the topic, “The foundation of a healthy organization is healthy members,” followed by a free Q&A session with employees.

The Q&A mainly focused on improving organizational culture and employee welfare. Among the suggestions was a playful request, “Mayor, please reduce your workload. Please,” which brought laughter to the meeting.

Mayor Park did not dismiss such requests with laughter but said, “We should wholeheartedly praise employees who work hard and achieve results for leaving work on time without hesitation.” He instructed the head of the Planning and Budget Department, “Please check for unnecessary tasks, unreasonable practices, and inefficient procedures, and actively identify tasks that can be eliminated or reduced boldly.”

Additionally, a lively open discussion was held on topics such as ▲ compensation for heavy workloads and undesirable departments ▲ measures to protect employees from malicious complaints ▲ creating a workplace friendly for raising children ▲ and establishing spaces for employee communication.

Personal questions about Mayor Park Gang-su also followed. When asked about his networking know-how, which was so popular that many people had to turn away due to lack of seats at the inauguration, he answered with “Baekjeol Bulgul (百折不屈),” meaning “unyielding despite repeated setbacks,” explaining, “Because I stood by my convictions despite criticism and pressure when it was the right thing to do.”

Regarding the question about the driving force that helped him overcome childhood adversity and reach his current position, he responded with a quiz, citing his motto revealed at the employee assembly in July: “A step with a destination is vigorous.”

Mapo-gu stated that it will actively review the opinions raised during this communication session and reflect them in district administration, and plans to continue creating opportunities for communication with employees in the future.

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