Acting Seoul Mayor Seo Jeong-hyup delivers his New Year’s message at an on-line news conference at Seoul City Hall on Jan. 5. (Photo: SMG)

Acting Seoul Mayor Seo Jeong-hyup delivered his New Year’s message at an online news conference on Jan. 5 in which he stressed the importance of public health, supporting people’s livelihoods and making future investments.

“Seven tasks in three categories — disinfection, people’s livelihood and future investment — will be implemented in earnest to open 10 million Seoulites’ new normal in the post-COVID-19 era,” he said.

Acting Mayor Seo said, “New Year is a watersheds time in which a new path in the post-COVID-19 needs to be opened, and aggressive challenging and innovation will be accelerated to open to 10 million citizens’ new normal.”

Acting Mayor Seo stressed “sujeokseokcheon,” a Chinese saying meaning “vowing to overcome a crisis together with citizens” and to this end, he presented seven major tasks.

First, he said, “A 59 bed emergency medical center and a 48 bed serious case treatment medical center outfitted with negative pressure rooms and respirators will be built at Seoul Medical Center and SNU Boramae Medical Center, respectively.”

The Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) will strengthen its control tower function to respond to infectious diseases by building an early warning system designed to evaluate dangers of spreading infectious diseases and predict their spread.

“SMG will front-load in the first half of the year 60 percent of its budget for the year 2021, and 393,000 jobs will be directly and indirectly supplied to Seoulites,” he said.

Steps will be taken to protect workers such as daycare workers and deliverymen as well as platform workers and freelancers, he added.

The number of “Our Neighbor Care Centers,” designed to provide daycare services for primary school students, will be expanded to 254, an average 10 centers in each ward area, while six city-run silver care centers will be newly built.

SMG will serve as a buttress to support the underprivileged such as the disabled, low-income households and the homeless.

Acting Mayor Seo disclosed his position about controversies over Seoul’s housing problems.

He expressed his determination to solve the housing issue, saying that 80,000-unit public houses of diverse types will be built by 2022 and 4,100 rental houses will be purchased to stabilize a supply of houses for youth and newlywed couples, and public refurbishing projects to supply houses will be implemented seamlessly on top of supporting rental guarantee money and rent, he said.

SMG will accelerate technology-based clusters of four value-added innovation industries in Yangjae, Hongneung, Yeouido and Mapo areas, and SMG will finance 1.1 trillion won into the Seoul-type New Deal policies by 2025.

“SMG will devote itself to making sure that a by-election for Seoul Mayor, slated for April 7, will be held in a clean and fair fashion, and all SMG officials will do their utmost to abide by political neutrality and make full-fledged preparations to make citizens come back to the new normal,” he said.

Mayor Seo indicated a raise in mass transportation and tap water & wastewater fees and charges, citing snowballing losses, incurred by operating entities.

The five sectors need to have their charges and fees raised, but raising mass transportation and tap water & wastewater charges are badly needed, he said.

SMG has been discussing with its city council a plan of raising basic prices of subway and bus by 200 won as well as basic charge of tap water from 360 won to 580 won per cubic meter by 2023.