The Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) will open onsite Mayoral offices in the four leading areas of urban regeneration from July 20 (Wed.) to July 26 (Tue.), 2016 to inspect the areas and listen to the opinions of residents.

It will be an occasion for Mayor Park Won-soon to communicate in person with local residents to encourage the participation of local residents in the urban regeneration project based on the performance of the project implementation so far, and to find out if there are any difficulties in finalizing the implementation of the project and what additional support the SMG needs to provide.

The four areas where the onsite Mayor’s office will open are ▴Changshin and Sungin area, ▴Haebangchon area, ▴Castle Village in Haengchon area, and ▴Sansae Village (Sinsa-dong, Eunpyeong-gu area).

The Changshin and Sungin areas, where an onsite Mayor’s office will open on July 20 (Wed.) at 10 a.m., is the first leading area of urban regeneration designated after the SMG changed the residential renewal paradigm from redevelopment through total demolition to urban regeneration by neighborhood unit. It is the area in which the urban regeneration project is currently being promoted most actively.

The onsite Mayor’s office will open in the Haebangchon area on July 25 (Mon.) at 8 a.m. The Haebangchon area is where urban regeneration is being promoted to revive stagnant local businesses by revitalizing the traditional Sinheung Market in cooperation with local residents.

The Castle Village in the Haengchon area is developing an urban agriculture profit model with resident participation based on the decision to transform the area into a “model neighborhood of urban agriculture,” having collected the opinions of residents in the process of establishing the regeneration plan. The onsite Mayor’s office will open on July 25 (Mon.) at 2:30 p.m.

Sansae Village is considered to be a model area of residential environment management project, as it actively promotes the regeneration project for outworn low-rise residential areas. The onsite Mayor’s office will open on July 26 (Tue.) at 10 a.m. to inspect the various sites of urban regeneration and listen to the opinions of residents.

The SMG plans to reflect the opinions of residents collected through this project in the urban regeneration vitalization plan currently being implemented, and will begin the public support project for urban regeneration in the second half of the year. Also, efforts will be made to discover business models that can be applied to the urban regeneration vitalization areas.

Mayor Park Won-soon said, “So far our focus has been on preparing the ground for a “Seoul-type urban regeneration”, but now it’s time to solidify the foundation.” He also added, “In order for the urban regeneration project to succeed, the active participation and interest of local residents are essential. Therefore, we will make our best efforts to strengthen the sustainable competitiveness of the areas based on the outcome of the onsite Mayor’s office, and achieve success in implementing the regeneration project”.