Gwangju City News

Reprinted with permission from Gwangju Metropolitan City Hall Photographs courtesy of Gwangju Metropolitan City Hall

Mayor Lee (center) during the February executive meeting.

Mayor Lee Makes Recommendations at Executive Officials’ Meeting

Coronavirus Control A t the February 11 meeting of Gwangju city executive officials, it was requested by Mayor Lee Yong-seop that all related institutions assure prevention from spreading of the new coronavirus and minimize the damage to the local economy.

With the dedicated efforts of the health authorities and the cooperation of citizens, no additional confirmed cases have been reported for five days, quarantine officials have been managing the situation in a stable manner, and Gwangju citizens have been receiving all necessary support.

The mayor stressed that an emergency system must be maintained and all the capabilities must be concentrated on to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. The heightened alert was not to be lifted until February 19 at midnight, when the quarantine period of the 16th and 18th confirmed patients was over.

He also asked that customized measures be taken to minimize local economic damage caused by the new coronavirus. The local economy has been hit hard by the disease’s spread. With the growing civil unrest, the economy has suffered a lot of difficulties, especially in the service sectors such as wholesale and retail, food and lodging, distribution, due to reduced number of consumers, fewer tourists, and cancellation of various events.

Countermeasures were discussed on February 10 with 22 industry representatives and economic groups. Based on the damage cases and measures discussed during the meeting led by the Deputy Mayor of Culture and Economy, City Hall requested that actions to support the local economy be established and implemented immediately, underlying that in times of crisis, citizens should be able to trust and rely on the administration.

It was said that aside from the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Phone: 1339), the Corona Call Center (613-3326, 3327, 3352, 3354; 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., daily) has been operating since February 7, and the center hopes to reinforce its professional staff so that it can play a role as a communication channel to answer citizens’ questions and combat fake news.

room to help small business owners and self-employed individuals. Being a time for sharing and solidarity to develop the Gwangju spirit, city officials were instructed to take the lead in identifying the things that can be done first.

In order to support struggling restaurants, the business community suggested stopping catering to canteens of public institutions. Even if it is inconvenient for the employees to leave city hall to have lunch, it is time for public officials to show support for self-employed people and take the initiative in revitalizing the local economy.

Until the new coronavirus situation subsides, it was requested that not only City Hall, but also other agencies and their public organizations actively participate in the plan to temporarily stop catering to their cafeteria and use the outside restaurants. Together, these considerations will help restaurants overcome their current difficulties.

Also, flower growers and vendors are facing hardships due to cancellations of school graduations and various meetings, so it was suggested to support the flower industry by buying flowers or sending bouquets. Coffee shops and restaurants are allowed to use disposable products for a limited time until the outbreak of the new coronavirus is well under control. Although it is directly related to environmental issues, prevention of coronavirus infections should be the top priority, and it is also aimed at reducing the damage to sales from food service establishments due to the fear of infection.

In addition, the citizens must be informed that the new coronavirus can be prevented by following preventive rules such as wearing masks and washing hands. Even if infected, citizens must be made aware that the disease can be treated and that the city has the means to do this, so excessive caution is unnecessary, and citizens should go about their normal economic activities.

Performance Management System The goal for this year is setting up challenging performance-generating tasks and achieving them with innovative business processes to create meaningful results. By complementing the performance management system that was launched last year, this year challenging key tasks will be selected and focused on by implementing the Gwangju-tailored performance management system that has improved the fairness and rationality of evaluation.

The performance creation plan reported by officials will be reflected in personnel and performance pay through a fair and reasonable evaluation at the end of the year. The directors and the heads of related public organizations should make efforts to realize a “just and abundant

April General Elections It was stressed that public officials are to abide by the Public Election Act with respect to the April 15 general election. The election date for the 21st National Assembly members, April 15, is just two months away. According to the Public Election Act, as of February 15, which is 60 days before election day, the heads of local governments and public officials are not allowed to attempt to influence elections. They are restricted from holding or sponsoring various events such as business presentations, public hearings, and sports competitions.

Daegu Delivers 10,000 Hygiene Masks to Gwangju G wangju and Daegu, under their “Moonlight Alliance” (Dalbit Alliance), are working together to overcome the risk of contracting the new coronavirus. The two cities held a ceremony on February 12 to deliver relief supplies for the new coronavirus at city hall’s meeting room. Daegu city officials, including Choi Young-ho, Director General of the Policy Planning Bureau, attended the distribution ceremony and offered 10,000 hygiene masks worth 20 million won to Gwangju.

The delivery of the goods came as Gwangju Mayor Lee Yong-seop and Daegu Mayor Kwon Young-jin held a telephone conversation a day earlier and agreed that they would cooperate under their “Moonlight Alliance” to respond to the new coronavirus situation. Choi Young-ho, Director General of the Policy Planning Bureau in Daegu, said, “Gwangju and Daegu have maintained the Moonlight Alliance for a long time and helped each other whenever they had difficulties,” and added, “Daegu Mayor Kwon Young-jin is confident that Gwangju and Daegu will cope with the coronavirus crisis wisely by joining forces.”

“Daegu City helped us greatly last year during the World Swimming Championships in Gwangju, and we are very grateful for the city’s continued support now in this difficult situation,” said Mayor Lee Yong-seop.

Gwangju City and Daegu City signed the Moonlight Alliance agreement in March 2013 to stimulate collaboration projects in social overhead capital (SOC), the economic field, and in areas related to the environment, ecology, and culture and sports. Together, the two cities have cooperated on 34 projects, including the Moonlight Sports and Cultural Exchange and public servants’ reciprocal visits.