Gwanak-gu, led by District Mayor Park Jun-hee, swept both the disclosure and outstanding project categories at the 2026 National Local Government Jobs Excellence Competition for the first time, winning the Ministry of Employment and Labor minister award on Wednesday.
The competition, hosted annually by the Ministry of Employment and Labor since 2012, is the country's premier regional employment awards event, designed to highlight local governments' job-creation efforts and raise public attention to community employment issues.
The award recognizes the district's comprehensive achievements in job-creation projects carried out throughout 2025.
Gwanak-gu created a total of 13,754 jobs last year, surpassing its target by 111.8%. The district also secured 16 billion won ($11.3 million) in central government funding and 21 billion won in Seoul Metropolitan Government funding by actively competing for grants from central ministries and the city, directly creating 8,217 jobs and contributing significantly to local employment stability.
In the disclosure category, the district was recognized for a range of job-creation efforts: five consecutive years of selecting the largest number of Donghaeng ("co-participation") job program participants among Seoul's autonomous districts, becoming South Korea's first designated youth-friendly city, and being the only autonomous district in Seoul to have three labor projects selected through the Ministry of Employment and Labor's national grant competition.
As South Korea's first designated youth-friendly city, Gwanak-gu recorded the second-highest youth employment rate among autonomous districts at 59.4%, a gain of 4.3 percentage points. Through Gwanak Iljari Haengbok Co., a social enterprise launched to expand employment for vulnerable groups, the district also achieved the largest increase in senior employment rate among all autonomous districts, building a strong safety net for residents' livelihoods.
In the outstanding project category, the district's Gwanak S-Valley innovative startup ecosystem development project drew high marks. Gwanak-gu was credited with overcoming the limits of local employment and successfully improving its economic fundamentals by leveraging the area's abundant young talent — including establishing the Gwanak Small and Venture Business Promotion Agency, the first dedicated support institution for venture and startup companies among Seoul's autonomous districts.
The district currently provides physical hubs through 17 startup support facilities — including the Nakseong and Sillim venture startup centers — as well as private co-working spaces, with roughly 3,000 workers employed across approximately 680 resident companies. In 2025, companies in the Gwanak S-Valley posted revenue of 48.2 billion won and attracted 23.9 billion won in investment, while a fund totaling 31.6 billion won was established and 19 companies were selected for the Tech Incubator Program for Startups (TIPS), strengthening the startup ecosystem. The district is also pursuing designation as a Gwanak S-Valley R&D venture and startup special development promotion zone, with a target year of 2027.
"This award is a deeply meaningful and honorable recognition that our district's sustained efforts have been fully acknowledged externally," District Mayor Park said. "We will continue to do our utmost to create quality jobs by successfully advancing Gwanak S-Valley 3.0 to build a Gwanak-style startup ecosystem, upgrading public employment programs, and revitalizing the social economy."
seouldream01@heraldcorp.com
