Lee Soon-hee, head of Gangbuk-gu District, “Push to reflect the ‘Shin Gangbuk Line’ in the city’s urban railway plan” [2024 서울 구청장에 묻다]

“Connecting 6 districts in the northeastern region, revitalizing the local economy
Promoting major projects immediately after taking office,
Changed perceptions of residents and public officials and gained confidence
The ratio of villas and townhouses is high due to height restrictions.
Support for maintenance projects, introduction of ‘Villa Management Office’
“We will create a tourism ‘hot spot’ by holding many festivals.”

“I think the residents’ thoughts have changed a lot. I think I started to think, ‘Our district is changing.’”

In an interview with Segye Ilbo on the 11th of this month, Lee Soon-hee, head of Gangbuk-gu District in Seoul, expressed her feelings as she entered her third year in office as the 8th popularly elected candidate. A native of Gangbuk-gu for over 30 years, he smiled and said, “I had a lot of distrust and dissatisfaction with the district office in the past.” District Mayor Lee said, “Under the slogan ‘Gangbuk becomes the strength for my life,’ I have been pushing forward with a series of big pledges right after taking office, and it seems that both the residents and public officials have gained confidence.”

Over the past year and nine months that he served as mayor, Gangbuk-gu has seen a turning point in change as several long-awaited projects have made progress. District Mayor Lee said, “In the case of the ‘No. 1 pledge project’, the Xingangbuk Line, we believe that improvement of transportation infrastructure is urgently needed to improve the lives of residents, and we are taking steps step by step, such as forming a task force (TF) next month after taking office.” “We are trying to reflect the Xingangbuk Line in the second Seoul urban rail network construction change plan,” he said.

The Shingangbuk Line project, which connects a 9.73km section from the April 19th Memorial Cemetery area on the Uisinseol Line to Sangbong Station on Seoul Subway Line 7, is aimed at building 9 new stations and 1 new vehicle depot by December 2025. It is expected to connect six districts in the northeastern region of Seoul, including Gangbuk, Seongbuk, Dobong, Dongdaemun, Jungnang, and Nowon-gu, and lead the revitalization of the local economy.

Along with transportation, housing is considered one of the core business areas of the district administration. District Mayor Lee said, “Our district is establishing a ‘residential maintenance basic plan’ for the first time as a local government,” and “a plan to set the direction of maintenance for the entire district, excluding areas where maintenance projects cannot be carried out, such as natural green areas, by September 2025.” He explained. Immediately after taking office, the ‘Redevelopment and Reconstruction Promotion Support Team’ was created under the direct control of the district mayor, and the district mayor added that it operates a redevelopment and reconstruction advisory group and a maintenance project coordinator. It is said that he is also holding a resident briefing session and academy prior to the maintenance project.

Gangbuk-gu is an area with a particularly high ratio of villas and townhouses. Due to height restrictions, the proportion of villas and townhouses among residential types reaches 45.6%. Unlike apartments, villas and townhouses do not have a management entity, making systematic management difficult, and disputes between neighbors frequently arise over parking and cleaning issues. Mayor Lee came up with the ‘Villa Management Office’ pledge with the belief that ‘everyone should be guaranteed the right to enjoy a comfortable living environment even if they do not live in an apartment.’

A pilot project was launched targeting 694 households in Beon 1-dong in March last year, and the project has been continuously expanded since then. As a result of a survey of residents in the pilot area of ​​the villa management office, satisfaction with the project was found to be as high as 94%. He also had the honor of winning the grand prize at the National Organization Head Manifesto Best Practice Contest.

District Mayor Lee introduced, “Among the many stories the residents told me, the most memorable one was the conversation about the villa management office.” A villa resident in Beon 1-dong met with District Mayor Lee and said, “There were a lot of people throwing trash in front of my house and it was so smelly that I wanted to move, but thanks to the district’s good management of the villa, the neighborhood has become really clean,” and said, “Thank you.” It is said that it was done. District Mayor Lee said, “It was a truly rewarding and meaningful moment.”

Revitalizing the local economy is also one of Mayor Lee’s priority projects. Mayor Lee emphasized, “For the region (economy) to revive, we need to hold a lot of festivals,” adding, “The Suyu commercial area in particular is our district’s representative commercial district and hot place, visited not only by Gangbuk-gu residents and nearby residents, but also by people from the northern Gyeonggi region.” . At the same time, District Mayor Lee said, “Rather than a one-time, tourist-centered festival, we will collaborate with local residents and commercial districts from the planning stage to create an attractive tourist city through a competitive festival with attractive content and a festival that can sustainably grow.”

In addition, Mayor Lee emphasized that the district plans to revitalize tourism by promoting the Uicheon waterfront revitalization project and the Bukhansan citizen observatory, which utilize natural resources such as Bukhansan National Park and Uicheon. He also said, “I really want to create ‘wellness tourism’ (achieving a balance between mental stability and physical health through travel) during my term.” Previously, ‘Gangbuk-type wellness tourism with relaxation’ was selected as a contest project by the Seoul Tourism Foundation last year.

Reporter Kim Joo-young [email protected]

[ⓒ 세계일보 & Segye.com, 무단전재 및 재배포 금지]