"The Site is Where Problems and Answers Coexist"… Lee Seung-ro, Seongbuk-gu Mayor, Special Lecture at Kookmin University

Bukak Political Forum for Graduate and Undergraduate Students

Seungro Lee, Mayor of Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, gave a special lecture titled "Visiting the Field of Local Autonomy" to graduate and undergraduate students at the Bukak Political Forum of the Graduate School of Political Science at Kookmin University on the 21st. Provided by Seongbuk-gu.

"The field is where residents' demands and issues are expressed. Since it is a place where solutions coexist, the frontline of administration at the district level considers the residents' living environment more important than anything else."

Lee Seung-ro, Mayor of Seongbuk District, Seoul (photo), gave a special lecture titled "Visiting the Field of Local Autonomy" to graduate and undergraduate students at the Bukak Political Forum of Kookmin University Graduate School of Political Science on the 21st. Starting his lecture with the question "Why the field?" Mayor Lee clearly provided the answer.

The Bukak Political Forum is an open lecture held every Tuesday, inviting political leaders to listen to political philosophy and insights, fostering political practice and leadership.

Mayor Lee has experienced serving as a district council member and city council member consecutively, and was re-elected as Seongbuk District Mayor, deeply feeling and continuously emphasizing the importance of the field. Because of this, residents have given him nicknames such as "Field Mayor" and "The Mayor with the Largest Field Office in Korea."

Mayor Lee also emphasized that overcoming COVID-19 was greatly empowered by the central government's proactive response and the local government's creativity combined with collaboration with civil society.

He pointed out the limitations of local autonomy. Although more than 30 years have passed since local autonomy was reinstated, and achievements such as the full revision of the Local Autonomy Act and the second phase of fiscal decentralization were promoted under the Moon Jae-in administration, he stressed the need to resolve the poor levels of decentralization and local finances.

Under the sub-theme "Seongbuk, Visiting the Field of Autonomy," true to his role as a field mayor, he explained key district achievements with concrete examples, including operating the Field Mayor's Office that discovers policies from the residents' perspective, expanding direct democracy through the Seongbuk-type Residents' Autonomy Committee, revitalizing culture and arts using local resources, the nation's first health primary care physician project, strategies for fostering the fashion sewing industry, and the youth city Seongbuk.

Professor Seo Jeong-do of Kookmin University Graduate School of Political Science, who invited Mayor Lee to the special lecture, shared students' feedback, saying, "There is a saying that local autonomy is a school of democracy, and today we were able to learn about local autonomy not from textbooks but through vivid real-life cases."

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