Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon said, “The Seoul Metropolitan Government will build up a social safety net and invigorate the regional economy, and do its best to raise Seoul’s competitiveness.”
In his New Year’s message, Seoul Mayor Oh said, “Seoul is now at a crossroads of making a leap forward in the future.”
He called for correcting social bipolarization and making continued investments in innovation.
Mayor Oh promised to foster future breadwinner industries with high added value and create sustainable jobs by Seoul making an advanced metropolis leading global trends.
In order to usher in an era of attracting 30 million inbound tourists, SMG will construct “Seoul Port,” which will connect Northeast Asia, the West Sea and the Han River, hold media façade shows and expand the Seoul Plaza space in front of City Hall, where “citizens enjoy reading and resting,” Mayor Oh said.
Guidelines to unify the height of high-rise buildings to 35 floors were removed and the stiffened land use system has been restructured into a flexible one, so diverse skylines and a competitive urban landscape will be secured, Oh said.
Seoul Mayor Oh revealed an ambition to make Seoul a financial hub of Asia by nurturing new growth industries and boosting investments.
“SMG will create the ‘Seoul Vision 2030 Fund ‘to raise 5 trillion won by 2026, and the ‘Seoul Startup Hub Scale-Up Center’ will be opened to offer one-stop services related to startup investments in the Tehran Street in Gangnam-gu, in which investors are clustered,” Oh said.
Mayor Oh promised to start the operation of the 2nd Seoul Fintech Lap in Mapo to create the digital financing industry cluster in the Yeouido and Mapo areas and expand the number of job academies to 15 by 2033.
SMG’s policy of walking with those in the vulnerable income brackets is expected to gain ground, and the number of households participating in a pilot project survey on “comfortable incomes” will be doubled from 800 to 1,600 to raise feasibility and subjectivity, said Mayor Oh, adding that SMG will build a housing safety net for lower-income people and help youth accumulate assets.
SMG will shoulder all bus fares for handicapped persons registered in Seoul regardless of handicap classification degrees, starting this July, said the mayor, adding that persons who accompany the most serious handicapped will be given a free bus ride to guarantee their movement rights on top of expanding economic assistance and social participation.
In order to make Seoul a good city to raise kids, Mayor Oh said, SMG will expand the number of Seoul-type kid cafés to 100 and the number of “Seoul Mom and Papa VIP Zones” to 17 while offering 300,000 won monthly for one year in “Seoul Kid Care Assistance.”
Mayor Oh emphasized the creation of a safe urban environment in which Seoulites feel safe wherever they go.
The metropolitan government will complete the installation of rain drainage tunnels, starting from areas, such as Gangnam Station, ‘Gwaghwamun and Dorim Stream, expanding to Sadang, Gangdong and Yongsan by 2032.
The step is designed to prevent the repeat of the damage caused by downpours in the previous year.
SMG will devote itself to preventing disasters, such as the Itaewon Halloween Crush that cost the lives of 153 people.
The metropolitan government has inaugurated the Crowd Management Team and Disaster Response Team under the umbrella of the new Safety Coordination Office, said Mayor Oh, adding that the legislation of an ordinance, obligating Seoul mayor to ensure the safety management of events.
Mayor Oh pledged to post 883 “safety crew members” to crowded stations to ensure the safety of subways and replace 968 decrepit subway compartments, aged more than 25 years.
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