By Park Jong-il, The Herald Business Guro-gu has achieved the top Grade 1 rating in the Seoul Metropolitan Government's district evaluation under the Ministry of Interior and Safety's 2026 Joint Local Government Evaluation, district mayor Jang In-hong announced.
The district ranked third among Seoul's 25 autonomous districts, securing 29 million won ($19,200) in fiscal incentives. The result carries added significance as it marks the first time Guro-gu has reached the top grade since the evaluation system was restructured into a four-tier rating framework last year.
The Joint Local Government Evaluation is a system through which the Ministry of Interior and Safety comprehensively assesses the performance of state-delegated affairs, national subsidy projects and key national policy initiatives. Based on those results, the Seoul Metropolitan Government assigns ratings from Grade 1 to Grade 4 to each district, factoring in both quantitative indicators and effort.
Guro-gu met all welfare-sector indicators and posted strong results across a range of areas closely tied to residents' daily lives, including employment support services, senior job programs, outreach to welfare blind spots, home health management projects and community dementia care.
The district also drew high marks for its systematic approach to evaluation management — holding regular progress briefings chaired by the deputy district mayor, conducting monthly performance reviews, and maintaining close cross-departmental collaboration to track results continuously.
"This Grade 1 achievement is the result of every staff member working together, and it is a meaningful recognition of Guro-gu's administrative capacity and policy execution," district mayor Jang said. "We will continue to do our utmost to deliver administration that residents can feel and to provide ever-better public services."
seouldream01@heraldcorp.com
