City hall gates thrown open on inauguration day
Mayor vows to build 'democratic city where citizens are the masters'
Kim Sang-uk, the ninth mayor of Ulsan, wasted no time on his first day in office, launching the ninth elected city administration with a series of changes aimed at making a tangible difference for residents.
On Tuesday, his first day as mayor, Kim ordered the full opening of the city hall entrance gates — a symbolic gesture of his commitment to embedding the value of citizen sovereignty throughout the city's governance.
Kim also made the civil complaint service office his first stop after arriving at work, prioritizing the creation of a unified, one-stop system that would allow residents to resolve complaints with a single submission. His first official approval was for a plan to upgrade the "120 Ulsan Civil Complaint Center," signaling his intent to redesign the fragmented complaint-handling process from the citizen's perspective and deliver faster administrative services.
Following his inauguration ceremony at the grand auditorium on the second floor of Ulsan City Hall at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, Kim skipped the customary official luncheon and instead held a working lunch with civil servants handling public welfare and safety, fire department officials, and representatives of the civil servants' union, in a bid to open internal lines of communication.
"The people of Ulsan are the owners of this city, and all authority in city governance flows from its citizens," Kim said. "I will usher in an Ulsan where citizens are not the objects of policy but the driving force behind city governance — leaving behind an era in which administration lorded over citizens, and opening a new democratic city where citizens are truly in charge."
cityblue@heraldcorp.com
