Seocho Mayor Pitches for Making Seocho one of World’s Best Cities

Calls for his staff to break the mold and innovate the way they do their jobs

Seocho Mayor Jin Ik-chul was sworn in as the mayor of the affluent Seocho Ward District, south of the Han River, at the plaza of the ward office under the catchphrase, “In Pursuit of Making Seocho the world’s No. 1 city with quality of life.”
Approximately 3,000 people gathered on the plaza of the ward office like at a large-scale outdoor performance. Among those on hand at the ceremony were Rep. Koh Seung-duk, Jinro President Yoon Jong-yong, Lotte Hotel President Jwa Sang-bong and Uljin County Chief Yim Kwang-won.
“As anyone who dreams and challenges knows their dreams may come true, so I have a dream of making Seocho-gu one of the world’s No. 1 quality metropolises with faith and conviction. I, as Seocho-mayor, will focus on field administration in the interests of ward residents, communication with them and action-oriented strategies under the conviction that I’ll toil day and night to change Seo-cho, which will eventually transform the nation.”
Jin said he will strive to make 1,300 ward officials break the mold and innovate in way they carry out administrative jobs.
SEOCHO MAYOR’S 100-DAY TASKS ― In his inaugural speech, Seocho-gu Mayor Jin unveiled the business tasks the residents of the Seocho Ward district badly need undertaken in their daily life and pledged to push ahead with them without a hitch within 100 days of his inauguration.
First, Mayor Jin addressed the childcare issue, saying that Seocho-gu will be the first local government to expand the childcare project designed to ease the burden of women with children.
A survey on the lives of women, conducted by the Seoul Metropolitan government on June 28 on the occasion of Women’s Week between July 1 and July 7, showed that less than half of the women were found to be engaged in economic activities, and 67 percent cited their burden on childcare and household chores as the reason for failing to be involved in economic activities.
He said the Seocho-gu office plans to expand the beneficiaries of the childcare program targeting three kids or more to parents with two children in a bid to help them lessen the burden on childcare. The expanded project will provide childcare serves for households with two kids or more for up to four hours for more than 10 days of each month and it will also have an effect of creating jobs due to an increased demand for childcare.
Jin said his office will put an end to the practice of bumper-to-bumper traffic that pays no heed to traffic signals, causing traffic snarls during morning and afternoon rush hours. The elderly will be utilized to maintain traffic order so that Seocho-gu will be one of the world’s best cities.
He also said task forces will be formed to smooth reconstruction projects that have failed to make headway. nw

(from above) Seocho Mayor Jin Ik-chul delivers his inaugural speech at the Seocho Ward Office Building in Seoul. (top, right) Notables attend a reception to celebrate Seocho Mayor Jin’s inauguration.