Mapo-gu Clarifies "Not Trying to Eliminate Platform P"

Mapo-gu, Platform P, draws attention with rebuttal materials against criticism aimed at dismantling Mapo-gu's publishing culture industry infrastructure

Especially, the annual budget required for operating the Mapo Publishing Culture Promotion Center exceeds 1 billion KRW, fully covered by Mapo-gu without national or city subsidies. Despite being a district facility operated entirely with Mapo-gu’s budget, it is rebutted that nationwide recruitment of tenant companies results in only a small portion being Mapo-gu publishers.

Mapo-gu (Mayor Park Gang-su) released rebuttal materials against criticism aimed at dismantling Platform P and Mapo-gu’s publishing culture industry infrastructure.

On the 24th, the district stated, "This is not true and is an exaggerated claim by some publishers," adding, "The district has repeatedly stated in official settings and through the media that it recognizes the necessity of publishing and design content spread throughout the Hongdae area and that it should be nurtured as a cultural asset of the Mapo region."

It continued, "However, the fostering of the publishing industry, which is a broad and specific industrial sector, needs to be reconsidered," and rebutted, "The annual budget required to operate the Mapo Publishing Culture Promotion Center exceeds 1 billion KRW and is covered solely by Mapo-gu’s budget without any national or city subsidies. Despite being a district facility operated entirely with Mapo-gu’s budget, nationwide recruitment of tenant companies results in only a small portion being Mapo-gu publishers."

Additionally, it pointed out that although the Mapo Publishing Culture Promotion Center is located in Hongdae, a transportation and cultural hub, more than 40% of the office space on the second floor remains vacant, indicating many issues in terms of efficient space utilization.

The district questioned, "Is it appropriate, as the mayor, to overlook the Mapo Publishing Culture Promotion Center where space is inefficiently used and Mapo-gu publishers and residents, who should be the actual beneficiaries of the district’s budget, are being marginalized?" It emphasized, "Mapo-gu is a basic local government focused on establishing and implementing policies for the overall welfare and safety of Mapo residents, and must reasonably consider the interests of all residents and promote efficient and effective policies within a limited budget."

Accordingly, the district revealed that it is planning an improvement plan to spatially separate the second and third floors of the Mapo Publishing Culture Promotion Center while functionally linking them to induce synergy effects, so that the center can encompass various industries including publishing and benefit more residents.

The second floor is planned to be used as a youth startup support center related to new media such as broadcasting, video, photography, and media publishing, while the third floor will be reorganized as the Mapo Publishing Culture Promotion Center, as before, to discover and foster publishing culture. This aims to maximize the synergistic effect between job projects and publishing projects through functional linkage.

Regarding the closure of small libraries, the district also expressed regret, stating, "Despite repeatedly clarifying through media reports that the news on November 8 last year about closing nine small libraries and converting them into reading rooms is completely untrue, the issue continues to be raised." It explained, "Currently, nine small libraries in the region are operating smoothly with operating expenses properly allocated."

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