'Focused on building prevention-centered safety administration'
Championed small businesses, neighborhood commercial districts and other livelihood issues
'Will keep supporting Oh Se-hoon's vision of Seoul as a global top-3 city'
Kim Yong-ho, a Seoul Metropolitan Council member representing Yongsan District 1 for the People Power Party, served as vice chairman of the Urban Safety and Construction Committee for both halves of the 11th council term. As he concludes his four-year tenure, he reflected on what the period meant to him.
"I have worked to put citizens' safety and livelihoods above all else and to translate the voices from the field into policy," Kim said in an interview Thursday. "In particular, I focused on building a safety administration that identifies and prevents risk factors in advance, rather than simply responding after an accident occurs."
Kim's legislative work over the four years falls broadly under two headings: disaster safety and livelihood support.
Among his most notable achievements is his push to build a live-fire training facility at the Seoul Fire Academy. He consistently raised the need to expand dedicated training infrastructure so that firefighters could receive systematic training in conditions that closely replicate real fires.
He also contributed to improving the integrated video surveillance system used by the Seoul Metropolitan Fire and Disaster Headquarters and front-line fire stations. He called for disaster management fund support and an upgrade of the control system so that emergency situations across Seoul could be shared quickly and handled efficiently.
Proactive response to ground subsidence and contaminated groundwater
Kim has also taken a proactive approach to ground subsidence, an issue that has drawn growing public attention. He called for the development of a system using AI and measurement and analysis technology to detect early warning signs in underground spaces, and pushed for new technologies to be applied at subway construction sites and large-scale development project sites.
Noting that aging water and sewage pipes are among the leading causes of ground subsidence, he consistently raised the need for detailed inspections of long-used pipelines, phased replacement, and the expansion of dedicated underground safety organizations and specialist personnel.
Soil and groundwater contamination around the former US military base in Yongsan was another key issue he addressed. When concerns arose that contamination from past fuel spills inside the base may have spread to Noksa pyeong Station and nearby residential and commercial areas, he said existing investigations were insufficient to accurately trace the movement and extent of the contaminated groundwater.
Kim called for the investigation's scope to be expanded to include nearby residential areas, for a thorough re-investigation to be conducted, and for the results to be disclosed transparently to residents. He also stressed the need to install containment facilities to prevent further contamination, draw up remediation measures, and secure the necessary budget.
He also worked actively to address everyday inconveniences for residents — supporting the installation of covers over sewage collection pipes to reduce odors in the Ukcheon area of Wonhyo-ro 1-dong, the construction of pedestrian stairs at rental housing in Dowon Samsung Apartment, and the creation of a barefoot walking path along the cottonwood tree trail at Ichon Han River Park.
'Small businesses and neighborhood commercial districts are the roots of the local economy'
Kim has also maintained a steady focus on supporting small businesses and neighborhood commercial districts.
Before joining the Seoul Metropolitan Council, he served as chairman of the Yongsan-gu Small and Micro Business Owners' Association and as an auditor of the Seoul Small and Micro Business Owners' Association. He attended general meetings, roundtables and forums to work toward reflecting the concerns of those on the ground in policy and budget decisions. He was particularly active at the MOU signing ceremony between the Seoul Small Business Owners' Association and the Seoul Commercial District and Traditional Market Federation, where he stressed the importance of building a cooperative framework between organizations — including joint project development and shared policy proposals.
"Small businesses and neighborhood commercial districts are the roots of the local economy," Kim said. "We need to build a more tightly woven support system so that the voices from the field can translate into real projects and budgets." He also proposed developing a "commercial district solidarity model" in which district-level commercial areas grow through cooperation rather than competition.
On major Seoul development projects — including the Yongsan International Business District, Nodeul Global Arts Island and the full pedestrianization of Jamsu Bridge — he maintained that citizen safety and infrastructure expansion must take priority over the pace of development.
"The past four years were a time I spent working to create meaningful change by looking after safety and livelihoods from the field closest to citizens," Kim said. "Yongsan, having experienced the Itaewon crowd crush, is a district that must carry an even greater sense of responsibility for disaster prevention and safety management, and that calls for sustained attention to everyday risk factors and a proactive response."
He added that he would continue to lend his support so that Mayor Oh Se-hoon's core vision for his ninth elected term — making Seoul one of the world's top three cities — can be realized.
7toy7@heraldcorp.com
