Located in the northeastern part of Busan Metropolitan City, Gijanggun is the most densely populated area in South Korea. In addition to the influx of young people and the development of new cities, it is also home to the largest theme park in Korea, the Osiria Tourism Complex, planned to open. All of these factors are contributing to its revitalization. Gijanggun Council Vice Chairwoman Seungja Maeng is ambitious and passionate about making Gijanggun a more vibrant and livable place. Monthly PowerKorea sat down with her and learned her plans and achivements.

Tax keeper

Chairwoman of the Nuclear Power Plant Special Committee

Maeng, who was elected as a member of the 8th Gijang County Council in June 2018, served as the chairwoman of the council operation planning committee for the first half of her election, and has been actively engaged in legislative activities to closely monitor the precious taxes of the county residents to prevent leakage. She began to receive attention when she requested corrections to the county’s administration from the governor of Gijang County at the time. She continued to point out various problems and criticize the administration, which left a deep impression on her constituents. She successfully won a seat in the local government in June 2022, despite the disadvantage of being the third candidate.

Her dedicated efforts led to the support of the county residents, and this was possible because she was recognized as a ‘worker of Gijang-gun with experience and skills.’ Currently, she is re-elected as vice-chairwoman of the Gijang Council, and also serves as Chairwoman of the Nuclear Power Plant Special Committee to resolve the nuclear power plant issue, one of the biggest pending issues in Busan City and Gijang-gun. “We have a lot of big projects, from high-level radioactive waste sites, to decommissioning, to dry storage facilities. These issues are very close to the lives of civilians right now. The nuclear power plant problem is not just a Gijang-gun problem, but an overall problem. As the chairman of the special committee, I feel a heavy burden on my shoulders and am working hard to make helpful contributions.” said she.

Taking the lead in resolving incidents and accidents

Pointing out issues of poor construction and corruption issues

In addition to the nuclear power plant issue, she has gone to the field to identify the cause of various incidents and accidents, listened to the voices of the residents, and tried her best to solve local problems and find ways to develop the region. In 2018, she took the lead in raising allegations of poor construction and budget waste at Jeonggwan Aqua Dream Park. The park boasted the largest number of lanes in the country, but just two months after opening, it was shut down for emergency repairs. Broken pipes flooded the drainage and mechanical rooms, which she saw firsthand and drove a public audit on the issue in January 2023. She also sharply pointed out the administrative procedures and budget issues of large-scale construction projects, which had not been raised by local lawmakers, and even pushed for the total amount of private contracts to be implemented. Currently, Gijang-gun has internal guidelines not to enter into private contracts exceeding 300 million won per year with one company. Through this, she made a great contribution to improving the practice of contracts that were carried out indiscriminately without restrictions on amount or number of contracts. The saved tax from this was used for the disaster basic income.

▲ Busan Metropolitan City Gijanggun Council / Vice Chairwoman Seungja Maeng

Introducing various ordinances to support youth and quality of life

Maeng is working to increase public parking lots and medical waste treatment facilities, and is communicating with the executive branch to increase CCTV to make the city safer for children and to strengthen monitoring of the traffic system. As part of these activities, she proposed an ordinance on supporting and fostering youth activities in 2018. The ordinance supports training, exchange, and cultural activities necessary for the balanced growth of youth, promotes welfare, improves social conditions and environments to benefit youth, and promotes projects to protect youth. In 2022, she proposed a partial revision of the operating ordinance to facilitate the operation of the county library newly established in 2020, and this year, she proposed an ordinance giving congratulatory money to all students entering elementary, middle, and high schools. In addition, she has proposed an ordinance to support war veterans, an ordinance to prevent crimes against the disabled and protect victims, and an ordinance to support the promotion of barefoot walking. Currently, she is working to attract an urban railway, establish a new airport direct bus route, and create a public parking lot. “I want to make Gijang-gun a place where people visit through the development of tourism content. Gijang-gun has not yet developed much, but it is a place with infinite growth potential in the future. I will do my best to support Gijang-gun’s vision of ‘Gijang, a city that embraces happiness and opens the future.’” said Maeng.