Gangnam-gu launched its community outreach initiative for the ninth elected-term administration on Monday, opening the first in a series of roundtables with resident representative organizations.
District Mayor Kim Hyun-gi met with resident representatives from various sectors at the district office's main conference room that day, under the theme "Listen in the field, answer with policy." He outlined the district's administrative direction and heard local concerns.
The roundtables were organized immediately after the start of the ninth elected term to incorporate residents' views into district governance. Kim will meet with about 200 people from 17 resident representative organizations — covering community self-governance, public safety, the environment, children and youth, women, and neighborhood unit heads — across five sessions through Thursday. The meetings are kept small to reflect each organization's area of activity, with the focus on hearing firsthand opinions rather than receiving formal reports.
The first session, held Monday, was attended by representatives from the Gangnam-gu Saemaul Association, the Gangnam-gu Saemaul Women's Association, the Gangnam-gu Council of the Live Right Movement, the Gangnam-gu chapter of the Korea Freedom Federation, and the Gangnam-gu Voluntary Crime Prevention Patrol. A second session followed, in which Kim shared the district's administrative direction with the Federation of Community Self-Governance Committee Chairs and exchanged views on neighborhood-level issues.
The district will continue meeting with resident representative groups through Thursday. On Wednesday, a third session will bring together the Green Mothers' Federation, the Kindergarten Association, the Child Welfare Committee Council, the Women's Organizations Council, and the Youth Guidance Council. On Thursday, a fourth session will be held with the Voluntary Disaster Prevention Corps, the Gangnam-gu chapter of the Nature Conservation Seoul Council, and other environment-related organizations, with a fifth and final session with the Federation of Neighborhood Unit Head Association Chairs closing out the schedule.
"The ninth elected-term Gangnam-gu starts from communication with residents," Kim said. "When I say I will answer with policy what I hear in the field, I mean placing residents' voices at the center of how this district is run." He added that he would "breathe together with residents" to fulfill his pledge — "Gangnam, full of energy! Residents, full of joy! The great transformation of Gangnam!!" — and build a better place to live.
seouldream01@heraldcorp.com
