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Gangnam-gu Accelerates 'Great Transformation' as District Mayor Marks 100 Days in Office

by
Park Jong-il
Published : Oct. 8, 2026 - 07:42:29
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100 days of field-first outreach — on Monday, residents and children will be heard, and staff will share progress; 67 campaign pledges across five areas unveiled with a four-year roadmap

Gangnam-gu District Mayor Kim Hyun-gi delivers the reconstruction project implementation plan approval to residents of Eunma Apartment.
Gangnam-gu District Mayor Kim Hyun-gi delivers the reconstruction project implementation plan approval to residents of Eunma Apartment.

Gangnam-gu will mark the 100th day of the ninth directly elected administration on Monday, with District Mayor Kim Hyun-gi meeting residents in the field.

The day will include a review of the past 100 days' achievements, sessions to hear from frontline staff, children and residents, and the public unveiling of 67 campaign pledges across five areas alongside a four-year roadmap.

The first 100 days focused on moving key issues forward at pace, with reconstruction receiving particular emphasis. On his first day in office, Kim signed the "Gangnam Reconstruction Acceleration Project" as his inaugural official act and took personal charge as head of the task force. Most notably, the district approved the Eunma Apartment reconstruction implementation plan 33 days ahead of the statutory deadline — a Gangnam-gu record. Kim personally delivered the approval document to Eunma residents, reaffirming his commitment to fast-tracking reconstruction.

The day begins at 7:30 a.m. with a breakfast meeting in the district office cafeteria. A total of 34 frontline staff — eight building management employees and 26 cleaning workers — will share a morning meal with Kim. The gathering is intended to thank those who maintain the building before residents and staff arrive, and to hear about difficulties and suggestions from the field.

At 9:10 a.m., a special expanded senior staff meeting titled "100 Days We Built Together" will be held in the lobby of the main district office building. A video documenting the past 100 days will be screened, and 13 employees who contributed to realizing the ninth administration's "Gangnam Great Transformation" vision will receive commendations. Three of the award recipients will present their own achievements under the theme "Change Made in the Field." The session aims to share best practices from the frontline, spread a culture of proactive administration, and channel staff-driven change and innovation into the driving force behind the Great Transformation.

Kim Ji-hye of the Parking Management Division will present how opening smart shared parking lots around the clock, 365 days a year improved convenience for residents. Kim Ji-hyeon of the Pharmaceutical Division will explain how the district's integrated drug prevention model was selected as a best-practice case at the Guangzhou International Urban Innovation Awards. Shin Ji-won of the Property Tax Division will describe how the division independently developed a "name-matching verification system" using generative AI, cutting the processing time for personal local income tax refunds from five days to two.

The director of the Planning and Economy Bureau will then outline key campaign pledges and future directions under the theme "The Ninth Administration: Gangnam's Change and Vision."

Kim is expected to encourage staff and deliver a message calling on them to translate the district's administrative goals into changes that residents can feel in their daily lives, under the theme "The Gangnam Great Transformation We Build Together."

At 10:30 a.m., Kim will visit the Gangnam Children's Center to hear from children and parents. An event titled "Safety Experience and Storytime with the District Mayor" will be held with 60 children and 11 parents. Kim will join the children in practicing how to cross a crosswalk and use a fire extinguisher, then read them a picture book. He will also draw cards from a "100 Wishes Tree" to hear what children want from their district mayor, and hold a separate conversation with parents.

At 2 p.m., the opening ceremony for the Gaepo 3-dong Community Cultural Center will be held. The district rebuilt aging neighborhood office buildings — more than 30 years old — and converted them into community cultural centers for Suseo-dong, Gaepo 3-dong and Ilwon 1-dong. The Suseo-dong center opened Sept. 29, and the Ilwon 1-dong center is set to open Oct. 30. Kim will review the achievements at the newly built neighborhood office sites and meet residents to hear directly about inconveniences in daily life and needs in the community.

At 4 p.m., a campaign pledge report titled "100 Days of Listening, Four Years of Promise" will be held at the Yangjae Stream Waterfront Cultural Rest Area. With about 150 residents and others in attendance, the ninth administration's vision and pledges will be presented along with plans for future implementation.

Inauguration ceremony of Gangnam-gu District Mayor Kim Hyun-gi
Inauguration ceremony of Gangnam-gu District Mayor Kim Hyun-gi

The district has adopted "Gangnam Energized! Residents Inspired! The Gangnam Great Transformation!!" as its vision, with "innovation, opportunity and solidarity" as its three core values. Building on this, the district finalized 67 campaign pledges across five areas: 19 pledges for a more livable city, 10 for a city of growing opportunity, 15 for a city of learning and leisure, 16 for a city of shared benefits, and seven for a city of peace of mind.

Key pledges include accelerating reconstruction and redevelopment permits and shortening project timelines, establishing a Gangnam-style tax response framework to protect property and residency rights, securing public parking in below-ground floors of neighborhood parks, supporting improvements in students' foundational academic skills, developing a Gangnam-style compact city centered on transit-oriented areas, nurturing Gangnam unicorn companies and supporting venture and startup businesses, identifying welfare blind spots and building a Gangnam safety net, and expanding cultural, leisure and lifestyle facilities.

"The past 100 days were a time when I ran through the field alongside our staff, listened to residents' voices and set a new direction for Gangnam," District Mayor Kim Hyun-gi said. "Now we will move beyond planning to execution, and beyond promises to results." He added, "Over the next four years, I will make the Gangnam Great Transformation happen so that residents can feel for themselves that Gangnam has changed."


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This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.

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