Dobong-gu District Mayor Kim Dong-wook chose the field over his office for his first official engagement of the ninth elected term.
Kim's first stop began at 6 a.m. Tuesday at the Dobongsan Public Bus Garage, the starting point of Seoul's public transit network.
After greeting the bus driver, Kim boarded the bus alongside residents and rode to the Uigyo stop. The trip was intended to let him experience residents' daily lives firsthand and take stock of conditions on the ground.
After stepping off the bus, Kim held a meeting with sanitation workers near Ssangmun Station, where he expressed appreciation for their efforts and listened to their concerns. "A clean city is built on the hard work of those who sweat it out in the field," he said, pledging to focus on improving their working conditions and treatment.
He then visited the district office's disaster safety operations center and its integrated CCTV control center to review summer disaster response systems. Kim inspected protocols for managing heavy rainfall and other safety incidents, calling for airtight preparedness.
His final stop was a completed landslide prevention project site in the Dobong 1-dong area. The project, carried out from March through June, involved 222 million won ($143,000) to install erosion-control dams and restore waterways. Kim personally verified the completed construction and assessed its readiness for the rainy season.
At the site, Kim also delivered his first directive to staff. "There is no administration more important than protecting the lives and safety of residents," he said. "The ninth elected term in Dobong-gu starts in the field and is built on prevention-centered, accountable governance. Put the lives and safety of residents above all else in your work."
From the early hours of the first day of the ninth elected term, Kim's schedule spanned transportation, the environment, disaster preparedness and public safety — a day defined by close engagement with residents. "I started the first steps of the ninth term's administration in the field," he said. "I will continue to practice field-first, resident-first governance going forward."
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