Civil servants at Jongno-gu have formed a volunteer group on their own initiative and are carrying out small-scale home repair work for vulnerable residents.
The group, called "Jongno Guardians," is made up of district employees who hold relevant professional licenses, including the head of the architecture division. Its activities focus on improving residential conditions that elderly people living alone and other vulnerable residents cannot easily address on their own.
The group visited households selected through advance applications submitted by the senior welfare division and neighborhood community centers, conducting tailored repairs on June 27.
The work covered three areas: replacing a broken kitchen exhaust fan, swapping out aging fluorescent lights for high-efficiency LED fixtures, and replacing a damaged door handle at a rooftop-room entrance.
Particularly notable was the case of an elderly resident in Changsin-dong who had endured a broken sink faucet for five years. A full faucet replacement that day finally resolved the long-standing inconvenience, and the resident expressed repeated thanks to the volunteers.
The district also partnered with DL E&C to promote resource recycling and reduce costs. Usable materials slated for disposal at construction sites were carefully sorted and secured, and the construction site delivered them directly after expressing support for the initiative's goal of benefiting residents.
The Jongno Guardians will be active again in July. Participating employees plan to lead another round of residential environment improvements for vulnerable residents later this month, with a commitment to ongoing rather than one-off service.
District Mayor Yu Chan-jong said he was grateful to the employees "who willingly gave up their weekends for the happiness of residents," adding, "We will do our best to carefully attend to the big and small inconveniences of daily life and improve the quality of life for our residents."
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