Seogangseok, Songpa District Mayor, Runs for 'Serving Administration'

Seo District Mayor: Practicing Servant Administration with 'Fairness' Added to Creativity and Innovation

Songpa-gu Holds New Year's Kickoff Ceremony After 3 Years... District Office Staff Gather on January 2

Major Achievements Include Opening of Village Bus, Swift Promotion of Reconstruction and Redevelopment

Vision of ‘A Premium City Serving Residents as Owners’... Sharing Six Strategic Goals

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Seo Gang-seok, Mayor of Songpa-gu, will focus on servant leadership administration throughout the year to achieve the vision of the 8th elected term, ‘A Premium City Serving Residents as Owners.’

On the morning of the 2nd, the district held a kickoff ceremony at the district office auditorium for the first time in three years since the COVID-19 pandemic, sharing the new year’s goals and project directions with over 500 public officials in attendance.

At the event, Mayor Seo Gang-seok stated, “Since the start of the 8th elected term in July last year, Songpa-gu has worked tirelessly to realize an administration that serves residents as owners, achieving meaningful results,” citing as key achievements ▲the launch of village bus operations ▲the establishment of the Civil Affairs Department and provision of one-stop services for permits and civil complaints ▲introduction of allowances for low-income disabled persons and elderly living alone ▲significant increase in veterans’ allowances ▲and swift restoration of flood damage in Munjeong-dong Flower Village.

In particular, Mayor Seo highlighted the district’s efforts last year regarding redevelopment and reconstruction projects in the area, which had long been stagnant, as a good example of servant leadership administration.

In fact, after Seo Gang-seok took office, the district continuously petitioned the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, resulting in the government policy at the end of last year reflecting the relaxation of ‘structural safety ratio’ and the abolition of the ‘secondary detailed safety inspection.’ The reconstruction site of Jamsil Jinju Apartments also resumed construction after the cultural heritage excavation survey was completed in four months thanks to the district’s active administrative support, and the project is currently progressing smoothly.

However, Mayor Seo added, “We applied for a meeting with the Cultural Heritage Administration chief last year to resolve the issue of buried cultural assets in areas such as Pungnap-dong, and I hope the meeting will definitely take place this year so that we can communicate promptly.”

In 2023, the district will actively promote 100 major pledge projects centered on six strategic goals.

The strategic goals are ▲a livable city ▲a prosperous city ▲a safe city ▲an inclusive city ▲a city of culture and sports ▲and a city fostering education.

To this end, Mayor Seo emphasized the core values of ‘creativity, innovation, and fairness.’ He explained, “For public officials, ‘fairness’ does not mean mechanically taking a neutral stance when civil complaints arise, but always standing on the ‘right side’ based on professional expertise, public conscience, and common sense.”

He continued, “The year 2023 is the time to run harder for the residents and actively create ‘Songpa Running Again,’” urging, “Let’s build a dynamically growing Songpa based on creativity and innovation.”

Finally, Mayor Seo reiterated the personnel principle, saying, “Personnel decisions will be thoroughly based on the performance records one has made,” and pledged, “As an urban administrator, public administration scholar, and senior public official, I will take the lead to become someone whom district office staff want to follow and learn from.”

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