Kim Ikang, Gwangju Seogu District Mayor, Receives Basic Sector Award for 'Autonomous Development'

The Only One Among Gwangju's 5 Districts Recognized for Communicative Administration
"Seo-gu's Efforts to Spread Positive Influence Nationwide"

Seo-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City (Mayor Kim Ikang) has once again been recognized as an autonomous district leading innovation in local self-government.

Kim Ikang, head of Gwangju Seo-gu Office, is sharing his joy with employees after receiving the Grand Prize in the Basic Division at the 'Korea Local Autonomy Development Awards' ceremony on the 25th.
[Photo by Gwangju Seo-gu]

On the 25th, Kim Ikang, Mayor of Seo-gu, received the Grand Prize in the basic category at the ‘2024 Korea Local Autonomy Development Awards’ ceremony held at the Baekbeom Kim Koo Memorial Hall in Seoul. Seo-gu is the only winner among the five autonomous districts in Gwangju.

The ‘Korea Local Autonomy Development Awards’ is an award hosted by the Korea Local Autonomy Development Institute under the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, and supported by the Korean Association for Local Government Studies and the Korean Regional Development Association. It recognizes and awards local governments and local council members who have achieved innovative results in regional development and administration.

Seo-gu led innovation in prompt and accurate communication administration through the operation of the mayor’s direct text message phone service, ‘Baro Munja Harangkke.’ ‘Baro Munja Harangkke’ is a communication channel directly checked and managed by the mayor, where residents can send text messages regarding daily civil complaints and policy proposals and receive processing results within 48 hours. Over 5,000 messages have been received in two years, and recently, messages of thanks and praise for quick and efficient complaint resolution have also increased.

Mayor Kim Ikang of Seo-gu said, “The slogan for the 8th elected term of the district government is ‘Together Seo-gu, Standing Tall Seo-gu.’ A ‘Good City Seo-gu,’ where kind and warm-hearted people are happy and successful, can only be realized together, not by individual effort.” He added, “I will do my best so that Seo-gu residents take great pride in living in a good city and so that Seo-gu’s positive influence can spread throughout the country.”

Previously, Seo-gu won the Grand Prize and the Residents’ Autonomy Award at the Korea Local Autonomy Management Awards last year, and this year swept the Welfare & Health and Talent Development Awards, setting a national record as the first to win two consecutive years with two awards each year.

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