Employee-driven initiatives include '21 Days of Integrity,' a program built on 21 consecutive days of repeated practice
Outreach team expands visits to libraries and welfare centers to hear residents' voices
Staff survey finds 99.5% of respondents have never experienced corruption
Songpa-gu in Seoul held a performance review session of its Integrity Culture Innovation Band on Sept. 9, assessing the results of this year's anti-corruption policies.
The district set its integrity vision for the year as "Integrity Songpa RACE — Running Together" and is pursuing 100 anti-corruption initiatives with a target of achieving a top rating in the comprehensive integrity index. The focus has been on turning integrity into a daily habit for staff.
The flagship initiative is "21 Days of Integrity, Together." Each month, teams select one practice theme and repeat the same action every day for 21 days until it becomes second nature.
Alongside this, the district ran three additional programs: an integrity points system called Integrity Points 333, visits to integrity-related historical sites, and customized integrity lectures for all staff.
A mobile integrity outreach team visits every department each month to hear staff concerns and convert workplace difficulties into improvement tasks. A newsletter and a QR-code feedback channel allow anyone to submit opinions without pressure. By September, more than 50 suggestions had been received and reflected in organizational culture improvements, strengthening internal communication and fostering a culture of integrity.
This year the outreach team expanded its activities beyond the district office to external facilities such as libraries and welfare centers, gathering a wider range of voices from residents and private organizations. The Integrity Advisory Committee and the Housewives' District Administration Evaluation Group also serve as communication channels linking residents with the district office.
In an integrity awareness and organizational culture survey conducted in April and May, 99.5% of respondents said they had never experienced corruption. Staff ratings for the effectiveness of integrity initiatives and the leadership of senior civil servants were also high.
The district's commitment to integrity stems from its governing philosophy of "service administration that treats residents as its owners." Songpa-gu is continuing this approach into its ninth elected-term administration, working to transform its organizational culture around the core values of creativity, innovation and fairness.
District Mayor Seo Gang-seok said the emphasis on integrity as the starting point of service administration had earned feedback from residents that "district office work has become faster and more courteous." He added that the district would "consistently listen to the voices of staff and residents to build an 'Integrity Songpa' that residents can trust and rely on."
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