Seocho District Wins Both Excellence and Encouragement Awards at Policy Case Selection Competition

Advertising Fee Reductions for Small Businesses
Recognition for AI Chatbot Service

On May 15, the Seocho District of Seoul announced that it received both the Excellence Award and the Encouragement Award in the basic local government category at the "2026 Outstanding Administrative and Policy Case Selection Competition" hosted by the Korea Public Policy Evaluation Association on May 14. Seocho District was the only basic local government to win two awards at the event.

Seocho District won the Excellence Award and the Encouragement Award at the "Outstanding Administration and Policy Case Selection Competition" held on the 14th. Provided by Seocho District.

The policy "Providing Reduced Advertising Fees for LED Electronic Billboards and Bus Shelter Advertisements for Small Businesses" was selected for the Excellence Award, while "Seocho AIgent, the Nation's First Agentic AI Chatbot Service" was selected for the Encouragement Award.

The Excellence Award-winning policy was implemented to support small business owners who are burdened by promotional and marketing costs and to revitalize the local commercial district. The policy allows small businesses to use LED electronic billboards at seven major locations with high foot traffic—including Yangjae Station, Gangnam Station, and the Express Bus Terminal—at a rate of 10,000 won per 10 days, which is an 80% reduction compared to previous rates. Digital advertisements at bus shelters along major roads, such as Seoul Arts Center, Gangnam Station, and Nonhyeon Station, are also available at 30,000 won per 10 days, representing a 90% reduction from previous rates.

Since 2009, Seocho District has continued its eco-friendly advertising policies by being the first in the country to convert designated banner billboards to LED electronic billboards. Over approximately 18 years, this initiative has replaced the production and disposal of about 90,000 banners, contributing to a reduction in carbon emissions.

"Seocho AIgent," which received the Encouragement Award, is an AI chatbot service that responds to residents' natural language inquiries 24 hours a day. Since its launch in December of last year, it has handled more than 11,000 civil complaints over about four months, with an average response time of 9.2 seconds and a 98.9% response rate within 30 seconds. It has reportedly also received benchmarking inquiries from the central government and other local governments.

A district official stated, "This achievement is the result of combining practical administration that provides real benefits to residents with smart administration. We will continue to develop administrative innovation policies that support small business owners and are tangible to residents."

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