Cutting Protocol and Relocating Unwanted Facilities... First-Time Mayors’ Experiments in Differentiation

Reforming Formal Work Practices in Seodaemun District
Dongjak District Relocates Heukseok Sanitation Vehicle Depot
Nowon District Strengthens Cooperation with University Student Council Federation

One month into the launch of the 9th popularly elected term, first-time district mayors in Seoul are carving out distinct approaches for their initial undertakings. Their actions include reforming protocol practices, relocating long-standing undesirable facilities, and partnering with university student groups. This reflects a trend where symbolic measures are being used at the outset of their terms to distinguish themselves.

Woonki Park, Mayor of Seodaemun District. Provided by Seodaemun District Office.

Seodaemun District Reforms Official Protocol Involving Staff and Residents

Seodaemun District announced on July 27 that it has designated ‘Reducing official protocol, expanding participation, and delivering administration to residents’ as its three core policy initiatives. Support for the mayor’s protocol will now be limited to the necessary scope during regular working hours, with no official accompaniment for farewells or attendance-only events outside working hours. There will also be no staff assignments to weekend or evening events organized by associated groups when department heads have no substantive roles. The district will decrease resident mobilization for events and expand live YouTube broadcasts for major events.

Woonki Park, Mayor of Seodaemun District, is a local native who has served two terms as a Seodaemun District Council member and two terms as a Seoul Metropolitan Council member, gaining 16 years of legislative experience. After being excluded from party nomination in 2018 and losing to Lee Seongheon in 2022, he won the mayoral seat on his third attempt. On his first day in office, his inaugural approval was the plan to revitalize the Resident Autonomy Council, and at his first work briefing three days later, he established the principles of minimizing official protocol and improving perfunctory work practices.

Dongjak District Relocates Parking Facility for Sanitation Vehicles

On the same day, Dongjak District announced it would relocate the Heukseok-dong sanitation vehicle depot and build a public parking lot in its place. The Heukseok depot (172 Seodal-ro) sits on a 1,680-square-meter lot adjacent to Exit 3 of Line 9’s Heukseok Station, and frequent entry and exit of sanitation vehicles along with the aging facilities have been a source of resident complaints. The district plans to move the depot to an unused site at the Noryangjin Environmental Support Center by September and to construct a ground-level parking lot with 45 spaces at the existing site.

Samyoung Ryu, Mayor of Dongjak District, is a former police officer with 35 years of experience. As a fourth-term graduate of the Korean National Police University, he served as Yeongdo Police Chief in Busan and Jungbu Police Chief in Ulsan. In 2022, he led a nationwide police chiefs’ meeting opposing the establishment of the National Police Bureau under the Ministry of Interior and Safety, and he subsequently received a three-month suspension before retiring with honors. After an unsuccessful run for the Dongjak-eul constituency in the 2024 general election, he remained in the area, ran again, and won against two rivals. His campaign pledges included launching a task force to accelerate redevelopment and reconstruction projects, as well as establishing a new fire safety center in Heukseok-dong.

Ryu Samyoung, Mayor of Dongjak District. Courtesy of Dongjak District Office.

Nowon District Partners with Seven University Student Councils

Nowon District will sign a business agreement on July 30 with the University Student Council Federation, an organization comprised of the presidents of student councils from seven local universities. Among Seoul’s districts, Nowon has the second largest number of universities, with seven institutions.

The district explained that annual agreements since 2023 have translated youth proposals into practical policies, such as the installation of heated benches and bus information terminals at Seoul National University of Science and Technology, development of security infrastructure in the Wolgye-dong campus area, and free health check-ups for young single-person households. This year, the district will promote the ‘Youth Freelancer Guide’ program to support young non-salaried workers.

Junoh Seo, Mayor of Nowon District, is the youngest among Seoul’s basic local government heads this term. He began his career in 2008 as chief of staff to the Nowon District mayor and went on to serve two terms as a Seoul Metropolitan Council member. His first official approval as mayor was for the establishment of a task force to expedite redevelopment and reconstruction projects.

One district official commented, “While symbolic actions early in a term are effective as signals of a new direction, they need to be sustained to avoid becoming one-off gestures, and only then can they take root as policies that benefit residents.”

Joonoh Seo, Mayor of Nowon District. Courtesy of Nowon District Office.

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