[Interview] Kim Kyung-ho, Mayor of Gwangjin-gu: "Dongjang Must Act with the Attitude of Soon Becoming the District Mayor"

Neighborhood-Centered Civil Complaint Resolution, Innovative Policies with Local Residents

Active Discovery and Prompt Resolution of Community Issues through Neighborhood Responsibility System

Neighborhood (Dong) Field Priority... Regular Patrols by Dong, Direct Handling of Small-Scale Daily Complaints, Establishment of District-Neighborhood Complaint Sharing System... ‘Dong Responsibility System Budget’ Allocated for Autonomous Handling at the Neighborhood Level

Gwangjin-gu has launched the ‘Dong Responsibility System’ to actively discover and promptly resolve community issues and has officially begun full-scale implementation of the system.

The ‘Dong Responsibility System’ is one of the policy pillars of the 8th elected administration and represents the role model for Dong Community Service Centers envisioned by Kim Kyung-ho, the Mayor of Gwangjin-gu. The frontline where residents can communicate directly and swiftly is the Dong Community Service Center. Accordingly, the role and responsibility of the community centers are being strengthened, and the existing department-centered complaint handling system is being reorganized into a ‘Dong field-centered’ system.

Mayor Kim explained the background, saying, “This initiative aims to reduce the inconvenience for residents who otherwise have to visit the district office separately to resolve complaints, while increasing the efficiency of complaint handling by minimizing residents’ discomfort.”

The district has set the key goal of ‘communication between district and neighborhood and field-centered approach’ and established the basic directions: ▲ proactive resolution of complaints through regular patrols by each Dong ▲ direct handling of small-scale daily complaints by the Dong ▲ establishment of a district-Dong complaint sharing system.

Looking at the details, first, the Dong chief-led self-patrols are strengthened to actively discover and resolve residents’ inconveniences. Mayor Kim said, “We establish patrol plans tailored to each Dong’s local conditions, build a thorough response system, and make patrols a routine through weekly patrol plans to detect residents’ inconveniences early.” He added, “We also select areas with repetitive and duplicate complaints for focused patrols to prevent recurrence, and patrol mainly around daily inconvenience complaints directly related to residents’ lives to enhance residents’ perception.”

The 15 Dong Community Service Centers in Gwangjin-gu have designated a total of 150 locations across 36 categories such as ‘illegal dumping, pedestrian environment, construction sites, park facilities, school routes, road damage, intersections, and security lights’ as regular patrol zones and plan to conduct early patrols to identify and address residents’ inconveniences.

Additionally, through budget allocation by Dong, issues that can be maintained independently are handled immediately. Accordingly, the district has allocated a total of 200 million KRW as the ‘Dong Responsibility System Budget.’

To activate the Dong Responsibility System, the budget required to resolve residents’ inconveniences was newly established this year. In the supplementary budget in February, additional funds for small-scale repair and administrative expenses were also allocated, laying the foundation for full-scale implementation. Now, simple and urgent small-scale complaints arising in the field can be handled autonomously by the Dong.

Lastly, efforts are being made to secure complaint handling momentum through the establishment of a district-Dong collaboration system. Complaints handled immediately at the Dong Community Service Center are recorded and managed in a continuous ledger, and complaints assigned to relevant departments are shared so that the responsible Dong can be informed of all complaint reception statuses and processing results.

Moreover, the Dong strengthens regular patrols to prevent recurrence of daily complaints and shares progress after complaint handling with the district, playing a leading role in continuous monitoring and resolution of complaints. Mayor Kim stated, “The ‘Neighborhood-Centered Complaint Resolution Dong Responsibility System’ is a cooperative local autonomy model where residents of the respective area collaboratively solve problems occurring within the community. It facilitates smooth communication between local governments and residents and plays a significant role in enhancing social interactions within the community.”

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Recently, through the ‘Dong Responsibility System,’ the district extended a helping hand and hope to a household suspected of hoarding. The home of a single man in his 50s, identified through the ‘once-a-day responsibility patrol’ conducted by the Dong, had accumulated discarded items inside and outside the house, causing severe odor and conflicts with neighbors. Staff, through continuous visits and persistent persuasion, helped the isolated man?who was estranged from his family and had unstable employment?clear about 15 tons of trash, supported wallpapering and flooring, and created a safe living environment. Additionally, a visiting nurse will regularly visit to care for his mental health and provide companionship. Environmental patrols will also be consistently conducted to prevent recurrence.

This is a good example of finding a breakthrough and resolving the issue through organic cooperation centered on the Dong chief as the local responsible person, along with related departments such as the Cleaning Division, Welfare Policy Division, Autonomous Administration Division, and Local Economy Division.

The 15 Dongs of Gwangjin-gu have rolled up their sleeves for full-scale implementation of the Dong Responsibility System. Various activities are being carried out through weekly patrols by each Dong.

Creating Clean and Refreshing Walkable Streets: Living in a Neighborhood Without Odors~

▲ Junggok 1-dong: Designation and management of alleyway cleaning responsibility sections by functional organizations

▲ Guui 1-dong: Environmental maintenance around Guui Station bicycle racks and vicinity

▲ Guui 3-dong: Maintenance of village flower beds around the intersection near Gangbyeon Station and Dongseoul Terminal with youth participation

▲ Jayang 1-dong: Collaboration between district and Dong to clear 15 tons of trash from a suspected hoarding household

▲ Jayang 4-dong: Clean street campaign in areas densely populated by Chinese residents

▲ Hwayang-dong: Production of cigarette butt collection boxes recycled from discarded flower pots in the Taste Street area

Improving Daily Life Hazards: We Take Responsibility for Our Neighborhood’s Safety!

▲ Junggok 3-dong: Safety monitoring of major construction sites including public parking lot construction

▲ Junggok 4-dong: Inspection of hazard factors in disaster-vulnerable facilities during thawing season

▲ Neung-dong: Comprehensive survey of speed bumps in alleys to preemptively eliminate pedestrian safety hazards

▲ Gwangjang-dong & Jayang 2-dong: Intensive inspection of school routes to create a safe educational environment

Night Patrols: Safe Neighborhood Even at Night!

▲ Junggok 2-dong: Regular joint night patrols with residents

▲ Gunja-dong: Strengthened night patrols to prevent crime in redevelopment areas promoted by local housing cooperatives

Eliminating Welfare Blind Spots: Embracing Neighbors in Need~

▲ Guui 2-dong: Discovery and support of welfare blind spots through agreements with six real estate agencies

▲ Jayang 3-dong: Discovery and support of welfare blind spots through business agreements with seven beauty salons

Mayor Kim stated, “Following ‘communication with residents and staff,’ we aim to continue swift and responsible communication led by the Dong Responsibility System through ‘communication between the district office and Dong Community Service Centers.’ We will establish a system where residents can directly participate in solving various problems occurring in the community and resolve issues directly related to residents’ lives quickly and effectively.”

The district plans to reflect the Dong Responsibility System in future comprehensive evaluations of Dong administration to enhance its practical outcomes and execution power, and to strengthen responsibilities along with the empowerment and role expansion of the Dong.

Mayor Kim Kyung-ho is focusing efforts on building various communication channels such as ‘Alley Communication’?alley cleaning, alley care, alley senior care, alley listening, alley volunteering?‘Vivid Field Sketch! - Communication in front of schools,’ ‘Gwangjin Development Communication Committee,’ ‘Civil Complaint Field Visit Day,’ ‘Direct Text Message from the Mayor,’ and ‘Dong New Year Project Report Meetings.’ Expanding multiple communication channels has led to continuous communication, resulting in both large and small changes and enabling the district and residents to collaboratively solve long-standing issues, thereby experiencing tangible changes through communication.

The necessity of the ‘Dong Responsibility System’ emerged through these communication channels created to jointly consider and promptly resolve problems occurring within the community with residents.

It is expected that the ‘Dong Responsibility System,’ promoted to get closer to residents and address their needs, will increase the happiness index of Gwangjin-gu residents.

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