Seoul City Council Members' Number One New Year's Wish?

Seoul City Council Newsletter New Year's Issue Featuring New Year Wishes from 63 City Council Members

The most common wish is ‘to create ordinances that empower citizens’ ... Among personal wishes, ‘dieting for health’ was the most frequent ...

Chairman Kim Hyun-gi: “We will make the council go into the field and come closer to the citizens”

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Seoul city council members cited ‘enacting ordinances for citizens’ as their greatest New Year’s wish. Following that, ‘communication with citizens’ and ‘creating a safe city’ were also mentioned as New Year’s wishes.

The January 5th issue of the ‘Seoul Council Gazette’ featured a New Year special article on the three main wishes of Seoul city council members. The wishes were collected from 63 council members who participated in a survey conducted by the Council Secretariat at the end of last year, targeting 112 members.

Among the respondents, one-third, or 21 members, stated that they would “create or revise various ordinances for citizens in the New Year.”

They mentioned ordinances that would allow socially vulnerable groups to live without harm, ordinances to create a childbirth-friendly city, and ordinances to respond to population aging.

They also expressed intentions to create ordinances that would instill pride in citizens, empower residents, and reduce budgets.

The second most common New Year’s wish was ‘communication with citizens.’ Twelve members said they would meet more residents, make daily check-in calls, and hold monthly meetings with residents.

The third wish was ‘creating a safe city,’ chosen by eight members. They responded that they would implement policies to build a city that protects citizens from disasters and calamities, a city safe for children, and a city completely free from the effects of COVID-19.

Among personal wishes of council members, ‘dieting for health,’ chosen by eight members, was the most frequent. Specific goals included returning belly fat to previous levels, losing 10 kg of weight, losing 2 kg every month, and walking 10,000 steps daily.

Other responses included wishes such as ‘getting married this year,’ ‘going on a family trip,’ and ‘eldest daughter’s university acceptance.’

Kim Hyun-gi, Chairman of the Seoul City Council (Gangnam 3, People Power Party), said of his New Year’s wish, “I will run solely for the development of Seoul. Together, we will raise the safety and happiness index of citizens.” He added, “The Seoul City Council will go into the field and come directly to the citizens’ side to share their joys and hardships and create a hopeful year.”

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