Vice Mayor Cho Chung-shik Marks 100 Days as Acting Suwon Mayor...Focusing on Seamless City Administration

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Jung Jun-seong] "There must be no administrative vacuum under any circumstances. I will carefully manage major policy initiatives that Suwon has been pursuing and prepare well so that the 8th civilian-led administration can make a smooth landing."

On February 15, when Suwon Mayor Yeom Tae-young stepped down to run for Gyeonggi Province governor, Vice Mayor Cho Chung-shik began his first official duties as acting mayor, declaring these remarks. Immediately upon taking office, he presided over a Suwon City Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters meeting, checked major pending issues related to the transition to acting mayor status, and headed straight to field inspections. On his first day, Acting Mayor Cho visited Paldal District 8 Zone, a residential redevelopment area, and told construction officials, "Please provide ongoing safety education at the site so workers can identify hazards on their own, and immediately improve any issues to prevent accidents," adding "please put more effort into the safety management of those working on site." Acting Mayor Cho, who has led Suwon city administration over the past 100 days as acting mayor, marked his 100-day milestone on the 25th. Over the past 100 days of city administration, Acting Mayor Cho focused on "seamless city administration" by prioritizing major project sites. He has concentrated efforts on field-centered safety measures to prevent serious accidents, support for the phased return to normal life amid COVID-19, and innovation in public sector organizational culture. This report looks back on Acting Mayor Cho's 100-day activities. (Editor's note)

■ Into the 'Field' to Prevent Major Accidents

Acting Mayor Cho implemented citizen-centered, field-focused city administration to prevent "major accidents" by establishing safety measures and enhancing management and oversight. He actively conducted field administration by visiting major construction sites to check progress.

Over the past 100 days, he successively visited residential redevelopment project sites, the Gyeonggi Convergence Town development project site, the red-light district landmark space creation site, the agricultural and fishery products wholesale market modernization project site, the Paldal Police Station construction site, and the Suwon Public Wastewater Treatment Plant's wastewater and sewage treatment site to inspect preventive measures for citizen safety.

The safety inspections were accompanied by district heads from all four districts, the Planning and Coordination Director, the Urban Policy Director, and the Director of Safety and Transportation, who also held on-the-spot discussions to prevent disasters and accidents. To foster a shift in public employees' awareness, "major accident case-sharing meetings" were also regularized.

These are meetings that directly monitor various recent incidents such as acute cleansing agent poisoning cases, construction site elevator accidents, and quarry collapses to prevent similar accidents and find answers in the field. General public employees were also encouraged to participate to raise awareness.

■ Active Response to COVID-19, Full Effort on 'Return to Normal Life'

He inspected on-site quarantine systems including COVID-19 testing and home treatment following the spread of Omicron, and achieved active cooperation with regional medical institutions to prepare citizen-oriented measures.

In February, when the Omicron variant spread rapidly, he held an emergency meeting with executives of the Suwon Pharmacists Association and agreed to actively cooperate in ensuring smooth supply of COVID-19 confirmed patient home treatment and rapid antigen test kits.

On March 3, he held a meeting with officials from six in-house infectious disease hospitals and the head of the Suwon Medical Association to establish a system for rapid response when emergency patients such as infected infants, young children, and pregnant women occurred.

During this meeting, Acting Mayor Cho requested cooperation on ▲establishing an emergency medical response system ▲operating a hotline among relevant agencies within the city when delivery or emergency surgery is needed ▲establishing a system to prioritize medical treatment for infants and young children confirmed cases in home treatment ▲expanding medical institutions managing home treatment.

When the Omicron variant spread, "situation check meetings" were held successively. Through the home treatment promotion task force, high-risk groups were intensively managed and face-to-face medical care infrastructure was expanded. He also instructed field-centered measures such as ▲establishing a rapid distribution system of self-diagnosis kits for vulnerable groups ▲securing medical institutions for home treatment management ▲thoroughly informing home treatment patients about support supplies and medical support systems.

He also worked hard to normalize administrative services for the phased return to normal life amid COVID-19. The passport issuance civil affairs office operates until 8 p.m. every Tuesday, improving citizen convenience. The work of public health centers that had been suspended due to COVID-19 response was normalized gradually, and facilities of public buildings were reopened for general use.

In preparation for increased citizen movement due to the lifting of distancing measures, he normalized bus dispatch intervals and routes, and is actively cooperating with local transportation industry to adjust taxi operation hour restrictions.

Acting Mayor Cho said, "I will do my best to provide meticulous and careful administrative support so that citizens experience no inconvenience in recovering their daily lives."

■ 'Report-Free' Meetings...Organizational Culture Innovation

Acting Mayor Cho focused on changing work methods and organizational culture. He actively introduced meetings without reports, tablet-based meetings instead of meeting materials, "annual leave calendars" for establishing work-life balance culture, and flexible work arrangements.

For matters that are simply status reports or do not require a decision-making process, he boldly eliminated report preparation and replaced it with verbal and email reports. Standard report formats by type were created and shared based on each department's work characteristics, minimizing time spent on report preparation and streamlining to allow focus on core tasks.

Acting Mayor Cho explained the background for the introduction, saying, "We are spending too much time preparing meetings and reports. The idea is to minimize unnecessary tasks done out of habit and instead focus on productive work."

Acting Mayor Cho urged public employees to establish strict public service discipline during the June 1 local election campaign and manage polling places without any gaps.

Acting Mayor Cho said, "I will prepare thoroughly so that the nationwide simultaneous local elections proceed without any problems," adding "I will also fulfill my role as acting mayor so that the 8th civilian-led administration can get off to a smooth start."