Yongsan-gu, Why Taking Steps to Create an Exciting Work Life?

Yongsan-gu Public Relations Officer Jinhee Lee (second from left) and staff are having a conversation on the 2nd.

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[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] As of January 2022, the number of public officials in Yongsan-gu is 1,286. Due to childcare and medical leave, the current number is below the authorized staff of 1,315.

Looking at the age distribution of employees currently working in the district: ▲teens 0.38% (5 people) ▲20s 19.67% (253 people) ▲30s 26.67% (343 people) ▲40s 27.83% (358 people) ▲50s 25.03% (322 people) ▲60s 0.38% (5 people). Since various age groups work in balanced proportions, continuous efforts are needed to overcome differences in rank and generational gaps.

Yongsan-gu (Mayor Seong Jang-hyun) is launching the ‘2022 Initiative to Create a Good Workplace.’ This has been promoted for 11 years to spread a healthy, communicative, and progressive organizational culture.

The detailed projects for this year include ▲Employee Psychological Counseling Program ▲100 Days of Miracles ▲Culture Day ▲Office Music Broadcast ▲Humanities Special Lectures ▲Honey Lecture Series, totaling six projects. The budget is 45.28 million KRW.

The Employee Psychological Counseling Program is a project to manage stress for employees exhausted by work and emotional labor. Last year, 406 employees received psychological tests, interpretation counseling, and psychological counseling. According to the survey, 92% responded with satisfaction.

Last month, a contract was signed with a professional company, and from the 7th, each employee can receive up to five psychological counseling sessions (up from three in 2021). Employees experiencing difficulties due to malicious complaints or acute stress can receive emergency and crisis counseling after an in-depth personal examination.

A district official said, “Due to COVID-19, work intensity has increased, and many employees experience power harassment and malicious complaints on site. The counseling content is strictly confidential by the professional company, so please feel safe to seek help.”

The 100 Days of Miracles is a body health care project where employees check their current physical condition through health measurements, set goals accordingly, and receive a prize if they achieve the goal after 100 days. Last year, 218 employees participated. It starts in March.

Culture Day is a project supporting team cultural performances and sports game viewing to strengthen teamwork. Last year, due to COVID-19, an online tour (Barcelona, Paris, Vatican) was planned, with 210 employees participating. It will be promoted in September.

The music broadcast played through speakers in the comprehensive administrative town of the district office around commuting, lunch, and leaving times is a small vitality for tired daily life.

The Humanities Special Lectures are newly introduced this year. They help enhance understanding of humans and develop thinking skills through lectures on various humanities topics. The Honey Lecture Series is a popular themed lecture series preferred by employees, with four one-day special lectures planned this year.

Seong Jang-hyun, Mayor of Yongsan-gu, said, “Strong physical fitness, humanities literacy, and diverse experiences create a mental space to understand each other’s differences. The administrative services provided by enthusiastic public officials will lead to improved citizen satisfaction.”

Separately, the district has newly introduced congratulatory gifts for new employees upon probation completion, convenience items for pregnant women, wedding congratulatory gift certificates, funeral supplies, and flu vaccination support this year. It is also expanding the use of employee resorts, providing customized welfare points, and supporting workplace club activities to create a good working environment through employee welfare projects.

Jung Won-oh, Mayor of Seongdong-gu, having a conversation with young people ('21 Youth Policy Debate)

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Seongdong-gu (Mayor Jeong Won-oh) will actively promote recruitment of eligible active-duty soldiers by providing an annual 50,000 KRW cultural and sports activity allowance.

The cultural and sports activity allowance support project targets active-duty soldiers from households with median income at or below 100%. Since its launch in 2016 as the first nationwide initiative, it has supported cultural and sports activities for nearly 500 active-duty soldiers.

Due to prolonged COVID-19 restrictions such as limited leave for soldiers, the number of applications has decreased. Among last year’s applicants, 78% were from general households (median income 100% or below), overwhelmingly higher than the 22% from basic livelihood security recipients and near-poverty households.

Accordingly, the district plans to encourage applications by promoting at community centers and various professional organizations, linking with universities in areas with many enlistments, and identifying eligible recipients among social security benefit households through welfare officers at community centers.

The cultural and sports activity allowance can be applied for online via the district website by the active-duty soldier on leave or their family, or by visiting the resident community center with required documents such as ID and leave certificate.

Since launching the active-duty soldier cultural and sports activity support project in 2016, the district expanded eligibility in 2018 from only low-income households such as basic livelihood security recipients and near-poverty groups to households with median income at or below 100%, allowing more soldiers to receive support.

As the only district in Seoul implementing this project and receiving high praise from many active-duty soldiers, the district plans to actively increase beneficiaries and continue to implement practical policies for young active-duty soldiers, who have emerged as a new group needing social protection.

Jeong Won-oh, Mayor of Seongdong-gu, said, “We empathize with and support young people fulfilling their military duties. We will continue to prepare various policies to support young people facing difficulties such as employment.”

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Geumcheon-gu (Mayor Yoo Seong-hoon) will publicly recruit members for the 4th Geumcheon Youth Network from February 7 to March 24.

The Geumcheon Youth Network is an active participation platform that discovers and proposes various policy agendas to solve youth and local issues from the youth perspective.

Youth aged 19 to 39 residing or active in Geumcheon-gu can participate.

Participating youth will engage in various district government activities until March next year, including discovering and proposing youth and local policy ideas, planning youth-led events, and youth exchange activities.

Last year, despite difficulties in face-to-face activities due to COVID-19, the 40 members of the 3rd term participated in online inauguration ceremonies, policy workshops, cooperation events with the Southwest Seoul Youth Network, and online performance sharing meetings.

They also directly proposed youth policies promoted by the district, such as youth-led career exploration workshops, youth community festivals, and mentoring by current employees of youth-friendly small and medium enterprises.

Youth wishing to participate can download the application form from the ‘Notices’ board on the Geumcheon-gu website, fill it out, and submit it via email or apply through the online application link.

Geumcheon-gu plans to provide basic education on youth policies, consulting for policy proposal writing, support for youth-led event planning, and exchanges with youth network members from other local governments to help turn various ideas into policies.

Yoo Seong-hoon, Mayor of Geumcheon-gu, said, “I hope the 4th Geumcheon Youth Network members will actively work so that youth become central and youth-related policies are realized. We encourage those interested in youth policies to participate actively.”

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Songpa-gu (Mayor Park Seong-su), which was the first local government nationwide to provide the ‘Coming-of-Age Support Fund’ and has nurtured 52 startups over two years at the ‘Songpa ICT Youth Startup Support Center,’ is recruiting new members for the ‘Songpa Youth Network’ until February 18.

The Songpa Youth Network raises youth representation, who have been marginalized in policy decision-making, by having them directly discover agendas and propose comprehensive youth policies and ideas in employment, entrepreneurship, welfare, housing, and more.

Youth aged 19 to 39 residing or active (employed) in Songpa-gu can apply. About 20 members will be selected on a first-come, first-served basis.

To apply, download the application form by searching ‘Songpa Youth Network New Member Recruitment’ on the Songpa-gu official blog, fill it out, and submit it via email to the person in charge or visit the Youth Job Team in the Employment Policy Division for in-person submission.

New members will be appointed after preliminary training, with a two-year activity period. Divided into subcommittees, they will work with existing members on activities such as operating ‘Songpul,’ a customized mentoring platform for youth employment and entrepreneurship; implementing a ‘Youth Member Allocation System’ aiming for 15% youth members in 112 district committees; and hosting the ‘Songpa Youth Festival’ planned and realized by youth. Meeting attendance allowances are provided, and outstanding members (teams) receive the mayor’s commendation.

Mayor Park Seong-su said, “Since taking office, I have considered youth, the future of Songpa-gu, as central to district administration, implementing various customized policies from employment support to job competency training reflecting their voices. I ask for much interest in the Songpa Youth Network to strengthen youth policies.”

Meanwhile, Songpa-gu, creating the future with youth, implements comprehensive youth-tailored policies such as ▲the ‘Coming-of-Age Support Fund,’ providing 200,000 KRW in local currency to newly turned 20-year-olds, the first among local governments nationwide ▲construction of the 17-story ‘Bangidong Youth Hub Building’ supporting one-stop youth employment and entrepreneurship (scheduled for completion in 2024) ▲job support through the ‘Munjeong Biz Valley Job Hub Center’ and ‘Songpa ICT Youth Startup Support Center,’ home to over 3,000 new growth industry companies.

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Gangdong-gu (Mayor Lee Jeong-hoon) has established the 2022 support plan for multicultural families.

According to the 2020 Ministry of the Interior and Safety’s foreign resident status report, about 2,300 multicultural families reside in Gangdong-gu, ranking 17th among Seoul’s autonomous districts.

Since 2010, Gangdong-gu has been promoting various support projects to help multicultural families settle stably in the local community.

This year, to provide more practical support, the preferences and needs of multicultural families were actively reflected in the plan.

First, unlike previous years, demand-centered customized projects have been expanded. Programs actively organized considering satisfaction and demand include ▲‘Rainbow Korean Language Growing School’ for school-age children of multicultural families ▲expanded career counseling for school-age children of multicultural families ▲‘Cooking Cook Culture Talk,’ a program to promote community exchange through shared food culture ▲a mentor-mentee program ‘Accompanying Settlement and Stability for Marriage Immigrants’ to support early settlement of marriage immigrants.

Additionally, the Gangdong Family Center is working on developing multicultural family programs that the whole family can participate in. Last year’s so-called ‘Aja (Dad-Child)! Project,’ a magic experience program with dads, received great responses from children. The district plans to further activate communication opportunities to improve relationships with Korean spouses and actively support Korean spouse community groups to help marriage immigrants understand culture and communicate.

This multicultural family support plan is expected to contribute to establishing healthy family relationships and expanding communication and empathy within multicultural families by inducing participation of Korean spouses along with various support projects under the direction of supporting marriage immigrants’ settlement and economic independence.

Lee Jeong-hoon, Mayor of Gangdong-gu, said, “Multicultural family members are also precious members of our society. We will do our best to discover support policies that are practically helpful by appropriately examining the policy needs of multicultural families.”

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Seongbuk-gu (Mayor Lee Seung-ro) will provide its own disaster relief funds to nine sectors (▲village bus companies ▲elderly care facilities ▲daycare centers ▲local children’s centers ▲kindergartens ▲religious facilities ▲closed small business owners ▲unemployed youth ▲individual and corporate taxi drivers) to minimize blind spots in government and Seoul city disaster relief fund payments for unemployed youth, taxi drivers, and others.

The disaster relief fund recipients in Seongbuk-gu were decided at the Seoul Metropolitan Council of Mayors’ special meeting held on the 21st of last month.

The support amount ranges from a minimum of 400,000 KRW to a maximum of 10 million KRW depending on the target. Disaster relief payments to daycare centers, local children’s centers, elderly care facilities, and kindergartens will be completed before the Lunar New Year holiday, with the rest to be paid promptly within February.

Previously, Seongbuk-gu held meetings with daycare center associations, village bus company representatives, corporate taxi officials, and exemplary driver association executives to listen to field difficulties caused by COVID-19 and provide guidance on disaster relief payments.

A Seongbuk-gu official said, “We hope this disaster relief fund will be of some help to residents going through difficult times due to COVID-19. We will continue to do our best for residents’ safety and economic recovery.”

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