The district scraps the traditional "status report" format in favor of real-time "issue sharing," using messaging apps and KakaoTalk to break down departmental barriers and speed up administrative services.
"Rather than in-person briefings, please share updates quickly via KakaoTalk or text message as work progresses. Communicating freely and on time is the key to improving work efficiency."
That was the message Gangseo-gu District Mayor Jin Kyo-hoon delivered to staff at his first expanded senior staff meeting following his re-election.
Gangseo-gu in Seoul is moving to dismantle its top-down reporting culture and build a more horizontal organization centered on communication and collaboration.
The district is renaming the conventional "status report" format "issue sharing" and strengthening a real-time communication system focused on cross-departmental sharing.
The overhaul puts into concrete form an approach to information sharing that Jin has consistently championed. He has repeatedly called for replacing formal in-person briefings with a flat communication structure built around messaging apps and text messages.
The scope of "issue sharing" covers district-wide matters, including emergencies, accidents and disaster situations; media coverage and press inquiries related to district affairs; and news of major events held by neighborhood community centers, civic organizations and residents' councils.
The guiding principle is to share relevant information as soon as it becomes known. For urgent matters, staff are to notify the relevant parties by phone first, then immediately circulate written documents to all related departments.
By using platforms such as the internal messenger and KakaoTalk to break down barriers between departments and reduce the burden of drafting formal reports, the district aims to significantly raise both the speed and quality of its administrative services.
"It starts with a small change — swapping one term for another — but this is an important turning point toward a more flexible organizational culture," Jin said. "Once a system takes hold in which all departments share and collaborate on current issues in real time, work efficiency will rise and residents will see faster, higher-quality administrative services."
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