Gangbuk-gu Launches 'Gangbuk Innovation Forum' to Find Policy Solutions With Experts

Gangbuk-gu in Seoul is running the "Gangbuk Innovation Forum," a program designed to deepen staff understanding of key district issues and social challenges and to develop practical policy alternatives through research and discussion.

Launched under the ninth elected administration, the forum goes beyond simply listening to expert lectures. Staff from relevant divisions engage directly with speakers — asking questions, exchanging views and working together to find solutions applicable to district governance.

Through the program, the district aims to identify rational solutions to pressing issues and generate practical results, while building a workplace culture centered on research, debate and learning, underpinned by expert training across a range of fields.

The second forum was held Friday at 8 a.m. in the planning situation room. Officials from the education support and youth affairs divisions attended, and Kim A-remi, an associate professor of social welfare at Seoul Women's University, delivered a lecture on building an integrated elementary care system.

Kim, a specialist in social welfare administration and child care policy, followed her lecture with a question-and-answer session, during which she and district staff examined the direction of local government-led elementary care policy and related challenges.

Earlier, the district held the inaugural forum on July 28, inviting Mo Jong-rin, a professor at Yonsei University's Graduate School of International Studies, to speak on commercial district revitalization under the theme "Local Economy: Adding Coexistence, Sharing Vitality." Staff from the local economy, youth employment and culture and tourism divisions participated, discussing ways to energize the local economy by linking the area's distinctive resources with its commercial districts.

The district plans to continue running the forum, focusing on major policy issues in areas such as the economy, welfare and education. Rather than limiting the sessions to one-off expert talks, it intends to strengthen the forum as an internal policy-learning platform where staff engage with outside experts' perspectives and hands-on experience to research and debate current challenges.

Presentation materials and video recordings from each session will be shared with all staff — not just the divisions directly involved — so that the expertise and discussions generated at the forum can be drawn on broadly across the organization and referenced in future policy reviews and project planning.

"Good policy is made when on-the-ground experience and the constant pursuit of new knowledge go hand in hand," Gangbuk-gu District Mayor Jeong Chang-su said. "We will continue to strengthen the organization's policy capacity so that this learning and discussion translates into real policies and outcomes that residents can feel."