Adieu 2023!... Park Gang-su, Mayor of Mapo-gu, Key Keyword 'Civil Complaint Resolution'

2023 Focus on Resolving Civil Complaints
Dramatic Resolution of Gongdeok Jai Apartment Unregistered Status and Land Subsidence
‘On-Site District Office’ Covers 100 Locations
'Top Contributor to Complaint Resolution'

The eventful year of 2023 has come to an end. Throughout the year, Mapo-gu (Mayor Park Gang-su) had no moment to spare, operating 24 hours a day. In 2023, the second year of the 8th term of the elected administration, which started with the goal of ‘A New Mapo, A Better Mapo,’ the key keyword evaluating Mapo-gu’s administration is ‘civil complaint resolution.’

The issue of the ‘Gongdeok Ja-i Apartment unregistered property,’ which had been dragged on for 8 years due to legal disputes between private parties, reached a dramatic agreement in November 2023 through Mapo-gu’s active mediation. As a result, the exercise of property rights worth 1.56 trillion KRW for 1,164 households finally became possible.

The problem of road subsidence within apartment complexes in the area was also resolved through Mapo-gu’s active intervention. Although there were three incidents of subsidence caused by damage to the private road’s sewage pipeline, construction had been delayed for over a year due to conflicts among residents. As the district office took the initiative to continuously conduct interviews with the conflicting parties, officials, and experts, the road restoration directly related to daily life safety proceeded smoothly.

The common point of these two cases is that the district office placed emphasis on resolving civil complaints related to people’s livelihoods and actively carried out administrative actions even when the issues involved disputes between private parties.

The driving force behind this was the policy to strengthen civil complaint administration in the 8th elected term. To break away from rigid administration and actively resolve complaints and conflicts, the district office created and operated various complaint resolution channels over the past year.

A total of 194,715 complaints were handled through the Civil Complaint TF Team meeting, the first task of the mayor’s day, and 3,237 cases were received and processed via the ‘365 Citizen Communication Phone,’ which was set up to allow any citizen to easily submit complaints. The Win-Win Committee, which discusses major complaints by neighborhood and complaint type, was held 76 times in total. The committee also played a key role in resolving the two-year conflict over the development and preservation of Seongmisan.

The ‘On-site Mayor’s Office,’ where the mayor personally visits locations, visited 100 sites in 2023 alone. Complaints handled through the On-site Mayor’s Office, conducted in a top-down manner, were processed quickly and are recognized as the top contributor to complaint resolution.

Additionally, the district office accelerated improvements to the civil complaint administrative infrastructure in 2023. Focusing on the convenience of complainants, nine welfare-related departments located on different floors were relocated to the same floor, and civil complaint helpers were deployed in 16 neighborhoods. The civil complaint office on the second floor of the district office was also renovated to accommodate wheelchair users’ eye level.

The district office expects these efforts to enhance the quality of life for residents and increase trust and satisfaction in Mapo-gu’s administration.

Park Gang-su, Mayor of Mapo-gu, who described the 365 days as flying by like an arrow, said, “It was truly rewarding and precious to devote a year of passion for the safety and happiness of residents and a better future for Mapo-gu,” adding, “Looking back on the year with over 1,500 Mapo-gu employees, we will work even more passionately in 2024 to turn the dreams of 370,000 Mapo-gu residents into reality.”

Meanwhile, Mapo-gu plans to welcome the last moment of 2023 and the first day of 2024 together with residents through the ‘Red Road Countdown Festival’ and the ‘New Year Sunrise Event.’

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