Mayor visits emergency medical center and tram construction site to hear residents' concerns firsthand
One hundred days into the ninth elected term, Daejeon Mayor Heo Tae-jeong has launched an active outreach initiative, taking to the streets to find solutions to residents' everyday concerns alongside citizens themselves.
On Thursday, Heo visited Chungnam National University Hospital and the Seodaejeon intersection area in succession, personally inspecting issues that touch residents' daily lives and conducting what his office calls a "walking with citizens" tour focused on livelihoods.
His first stop was the regional emergency medical center at Chungnam National University Hospital, where he reviewed how the "Daejeon-style emergency patient transport and reception guidelines" — fully implemented last month — are working on the ground. Heo listened to emergency medical staff and fire department officials describe the difficulties they encounter during patient transport and intake, as well as real-world cases of how the guidelines have been applied.
The overhaul of Daejeon's emergency medical system — a key campaign pledge of the ninth elected term — establishes triage-based transport and reception standards and strengthens cooperation between the fire department and medical institutions, building a seamless collaborative framework covering everything from patient transport to admission and final treatment. Heo urged hospitals and the fire department to work closely together so that emergency patients can receive appropriate treatment within the critical golden hour.
Heo then moved to his second stop: the tram construction site at the Seodaejeon intersection and the nearby Oryu-dong shopping street. He met with construction management officials and contractor representatives, urging them to keep the project on schedule, maintain strict safety management, and minimize disruptions to residents — including traffic congestion, noise and vibration — caused by the construction work.
After the site inspection, Heo visited the Oryu-dong shopping street to hear directly from merchants struggling with the impact of the tram construction. Businesses around the Seodaejeon intersection have filed a stream of complaints that their operating environment has deteriorated due to reduced lanes causing traffic inconvenience, difficulty accessing parking lots, poor pedestrian conditions, and the temporary relocation of bus stops.
In response, the city plans to complete the installation of road deck panels by the end of October, improving traffic flow from the current four lanes to five or six lanes in both directions. Once traffic conditions improve, the city will also consider restoring bus stops to their original locations. Paving over the deck panels to reduce noise and vibration is also under review.
Heo stressed that minimizing the inconvenience borne by residents and small business owners during the tram construction is the city's responsibility, and directed officials to develop concrete improvements for the issues raised on the ground — including vehicle and pedestrian access, parking and overall traffic conditions.
The city plans to review the suggestions and proposals gathered at Thursday's sites through the relevant departments, share the results with residents, and continue monitoring progress to ensure that voices from the field translate into real policy changes. Short-form video content capturing the scenes and residents' voices will also be produced and released through the city's official social media channels.
"The first 100 days of the ninth elected term is not a time to talk about achievements — it is a time to listen again to citizens and confirm what still needs to be done," Heo said. "From protecting residents' lives and safety, to addressing hardships in their daily livelihoods, to removing obstacles that block businesses from taking on challenges and growing — the answers lie in the field, and I will work through them one by one."
kwonhl@heraldcorp.com
