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Seoul mayor inaugurated online |
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Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon shows his office filled with bookcases during an inauguration broadcast through the Internet, Wednesday. / Korea Times |
Park pledges to expand welfare programs for residents
By Kim Rahn
Park Won-soon was officially sworn in as mayor of Seoul Wednesday in an unprecedented inauguration ceremony that was held in his office and broadcast online.
Every citizen connected to the internet could see what his office looks like, what books he reads, what paintings are hung on the wall, and even where he takes a nap, as he showcased his office.
In the offbeat inauguration, Park appeared before the camera in front of his office at City Hall at 11 a.m. “Welcome, citizens who are taking part in the world’s first online inauguration,” the mayor said.
The event started with a tour of his office — the first time for a Seoul mayor to make show his office to the public since the first inauguration in 1946.
During the housewarming party-like session, Park first showed a wall covered with post-its on which citizens wrote their wishes during his election campaign. He read some of them, such as: “I can’t marry because the house prices are too high” and “I hope we can have more fruit included in the school lunch.”
“I’ll look at them every day and try to reflect them in policies,” he said.
Bookcases lined the other three walls. Two of the bookcases leaned in opposite directions with several shelves connecting them in the middle. “This symbolizes polarization. Korean society is divided by ideology, generation and region. As the shelves help maintain balance, I’ll try to become a mayor who can mediate conflicts,” Park said.
A couple of paving stones were also visible. Local authorities change paving stones at the end of almost every year, as they can get the same or more budget from the government the next year when spending the remainder of this year’s budget.
“I’ll not have tax funds wasted on paving stone changing construction,” the mayor said, adding his bookcases were all made of recycled materials.
At the table in the middle of the office where he has meetings with city officials, he showed a chair labeled “citizen-mayor’s chair.” “When I work, I imagine a citizen is watching me. I also plan to invite citizens as ‘mayor for a day’ and have them sit here and share ideas with us,” he said.
A very private part of the office was also toured: a resting space attached to the office with a toilet bowl, a shower booth and a bed. “With the bed, I’m tempted to work all night. But if I do that, other officials won’t be able to go home, either, so I’m trying not to.”
‘Welfare mayor’
After the office tour, he introduced the vice mayors and leaders of the Seoul Metropolitan Council, pledging cooperation with the council.
He sang the national anthem with them and took the oath of office. In the inaugural address, the mayor said welfare is not a favor but a citizen’s right.
“Welfare is investment into humans and the future with the highest interest rate. It is not a matter of either welfare or growth. For the last 10 years, we saw that growth brings welfare and welfare leads to growth,” he said.
On the city government’s website which broadcasted the inauguration, citizens began posting supportive and congratulatory messages for the mayor through various social network service channels even before the ceremony started. Park displayed some of the messages on an iPad.
After the online ceremony, Park went out to Deoksu Palace next to the City Hall to meet offline Seoul citizens. Hundreds of citizens welcomed the mayor, applauding and taking photos of him.
“I’ll try to listen to citizens and solve their troubles. If I do something wrong, you can come here and hold demonstrations,” he said.
Dozens of people, mainly those facing eviction from their homes in urban redevelopment projects, also tried to make appeals to Park about their housing troubles.
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박원순 "복지는 시혜 아닌 시민의 권리"
"협력과 조정의 힘으로 시정 이끌겠다"
집무실서 서울시장 취임식…온라인 중계
박원순 서울시장은 16일 "복지시장이 되겠다"며 "복지는 시혜가 아닌 시민의 권리"라고 말했다.
박 시장은 이날 서울시청 서소문별관 집무실에서 열린 제35대 서울시장 취임식에서 "지난 10여년 동안 성장이 복지를 보장하는 것은 아니라는 것이 분명해졌다. 오히려 복지가 성장을 견인하는 시대가 됐다"며 이같이 밝혔다.
"복지는 공짜도 아니고 낭비도 아니다"라며 복지를 `인간에 대한 가장 높은 이율의 저축', `미래에 대한 최고수익의 투자'라는 비유도 덧붙였다.
박 시장은 이어 "사람냄새가 나는 서울시를 만들겠다"며 "강남ㆍ북 어디에 살든 균등한 삶의 질, 최소한의 복지를 누릴 수 있도록 노력하겠다"고 말했다.
친환경무상급식에 이어 국공립보육시설 확대, 여성과 장애인의 지위개선, 어르신(노인)의 보호와 일자리 제공도 더 이상 개인에 맡겨둘 문제가 아니라고 강조했다.
그는 또 시장으로서 꿈꾸는 서울은 `가난한 사람과 부자가 더불어 살아가는 공동체', `자연이 숨쉬는 도시', `문화와 예술이 삶속에 녹아있는 공간', `소박하고 검소해도 안전한 서울'이라고 밝혔다.
박 시장은 그런 서울을 만들기 위해 "부정보다는 긍정의 힘으로, 갈등과 대립보다는 협력과 조정의 힘으로 시정을 이끌겠다"고 다짐했다.
그는 또 "1%가 99%를 지배하는, 승자가 독식하여 다수가 불행해지는 현상은 정의로운 사회가 아니다"라며 "무차별적인 개발로 환경을 파괴하여 다음 세대에 피해를 끼치는 것은 지속가능한 사회가 아니다"라고 강조했다.
서울시장으로서 해결하기 어렵고 고민스러운 부분을 그대로 드러내기도 했다.
그는 취임사 첫 부분에서 "실타래처럼 얽히고 난마와 같이 설킨 난제들이 곳곳에 있다. 무엇보다 수많은 주민들이 자신의 삶의 터전에서 쫓겨나야 하는 뉴타운사업은 가장 큰 고민거리다"라고 말했다.
이어 취임식을 마치고 덕수궁 대한문 앞으로 나가 시민들을 만날 때는 "재개발로 고통받는 분들, 복잡한 문제지만 어떻게든 고민해 해결하겠다"고 약속했다.
아울러 "우리가 직면하고 있는 많은 문제들의 심각성을 제대로 인식하고 인정하는 것이야말로 해법을 찾는 첫걸음"이라고 전제한 뒤, "시민이 시장"이라며 "새로운 역사의 물결에 함께 하길 부탁한다"고 당부하기도 했다.
박 시장 지난달 `10.26 재보궐선거'를 통해 서울시장에 당선된 뒤 직무를 수행해오다가 이날 파격적인 온라인 취임식을 가졌다. 집무공간은 물론 휴게실, 화장실, 샤워실까지 서울시장 집무실이 60여년만에 처음으로 인터넷에 공개됐다.
이날 취임식이 열린 시장실에는 서울시의회 허광태 의장과 양준욱, 진두생 부의장, 김명수 운영위원장도 참석했다. 허 의장은 "시청과 시의회라는 두 수레바퀴가 같은 마음으로 힘차게 달리도록 노력하겠다"고 말했다. (연합)
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rahnita@koreatimes.co.k |
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