Jung-gu, Seoul with Highest Proportion of Foreign Residents Launches 'Support Working Group'

by Kim Minjin

Pubilshed 06 Aug.2025 07:36(KST)

“To Help Foreign Residents Take Root in the Local Community”

Jung-gu (District Mayor Kim Gilseong), which has the highest proportion of foreign residents among Seoul’s autonomous districts, announced on August 6 that it has formed a "Foreign Resident Support Working Group" (Working Group) involving the public, private, and academic sectors to help foreign residents settle stably, and has begun full-scale cooperation.

Meeting scene of the Foreign Applicant Practical Council. Provided by Junggu.

The Working Group is centered around the Jung-gu Foreign Resident Support Team and includes nine organizations and departments such as the Eastern Foreign Resident Center, Seoul Global Center, Seoul Global Youth Education Center, Seoul Migrant Women Counseling Center, Jung-gu Family Center, Dongguk University Office of International Affairs, and relevant departments of the district office.

At the first meeting held on July 29, participants shared Jung-gu’s policy direction and implementation plans for supporting foreign residents, and discussed key projects and current issues for each organization. In particular, the meeting focused on issues closely related to the daily lives of foreign residents, such as support for out-of-school foreign youth activities, interpretation support for preschool children, and employment linkage for international students.

The ten committee members who attended the meeting said, “It is meaningful to have a forum to share foreign resident support programs that have so far been carried out separately by each organization,” and added, “We expect that by strengthening connections between projects through the Working Group, we will be able to provide more organic and thorough support.”

Jung-gu plans to institutionalize the Working Group and operate it on a quarterly basis. Through this, the district aims to identify the diverse needs of foreign residents and enhance policy implementation through organic collaboration between organizations.

With foreign residents accounting for 8.8% of its total population, Jung-gu established the "Foreign Resident Support Team" for the first time among autonomous districts in January, and formulated a "Comprehensive Support Plan for Foreign Residents" to help them settle and integrate. The operation of this Working Group marks the first concrete step in implementing that plan.

Kim Gilseong, Mayor of Jung-gu, stated, “Systematic and sustainable support is needed in response to the increase in foreign residents and the multicultural changes in the region,” and added, “Going forward, with the Foreign Resident Support Working Group at the center, the public, private, and academic sectors will join forces to help foreign residents take root stably in the local community.”