"Reports in Two Minutes": Mayor Choo Kyung-ho Introduces Timer at Second Executive Meeting in Daegu

Eliminating Meeting Materials and Reducing Distance Between Mayor and Executives

"Directors and Bureau Chiefs Must Have a Firm Grasp of the Issues"

Daegu City has introduced a two-minute timer for executive meetings.

On July 6, Daegu City announced that, following the instructions of Mayor Choo Kyung-ho, it has changed the way meetings are conducted in order to establish a meeting culture in which only the core issues are reported concisely and clearly. Each director and bureau chief is now required to report on major issues and mayoral directives within two minutes, and meeting materials have been eliminated.

At the executive meeting chaired by Mayor Choo on this day, the directors and bureau chiefs in attendance appeared noticeably tense due to the new meeting format. Starting that day, attendees explained that they no longer use meeting documents, and the physical distance between the mayor and executives in the meeting room has been significantly reduced, breaking away from the conventional meeting format and formalities.

This measure aims to strengthen control over key issues and focus on implementation-oriented municipal administration. It reflects Mayor Choo’s philosophy that directors and bureau chiefs must have a thorough grasp of key issues so that they can provide direct explanations to citizens, the city council, and the media at any time.

Mayor Choo reportedly said, “Directors and bureau chiefs must have a firm grasp of the issues in order to realize the vision of a ‘Better Tomorrow’ for citizens during the 9th popularly elected administration,” and asked them to devote their abilities to achieving results through execution and work-oriented municipal operations.

During the meeting, Mayor Choo also instructed the Disaster Safety Office and Environmental Water Resources Bureau to closely monitor and cooperate in response to on-site situations in preparation for the upcoming rainy season disaster response. He also called on each bureau to actively develop agenda items for the upcoming Emergency Economic Countermeasures Meeting.

Regarding the government policy to “create ten Seoul National Universities,” he requested detailed strategies and persuasive content to help local universities be selected. In relation to issues such as the ongoing demonstration project for riverbed water as an alternative water intake source, he emphasized to public officials the importance of scientific and objective verification.

He then addressed the first-ever introduction of a “youth special advisor” in Daegu City, explaining that “this is intended to create demand-centered, practical policies and give young people the initiative in policy operation.” He directed the preparation of various support measures to encourage many young people to apply and called for fair operation of the selection committee. He also called for efforts to resolve citizen complaints and inconveniences, improve organizational culture, and strengthen communication with the media.

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