Running every Saturday since 2020

Park vows to continue to 500th session

People Power Party lawmaker Park Soo-young. [Provided by Park's office]
People Power Party lawmaker Park Soo-young. [Provided by Park's office]

A weekly constituent outreach event held by People Power Party lawmaker Park Soo-young, in which Park meets residents of Busan's Nam-gu every Saturday to hear their grievances, will reach its 300th session on Saturday. Since the first session in 2020, Park has met about 7,300 residents over six years, receiving more than 1,800 complaints and resolving 888 of them.

According to Park's office, the event — informally called "Gukjjomman," short for "Let's meet our lawmaker" — grew out of a campaign pledge Park made during the 21st general election to establish a permanent walk-in channel for constituents. Starting June 13, 2020, Park has held the sessions every Saturday morning at a district office in Daeyeon-dong, Nam-gu, Busan, meeting residents without prior appointment to hear everyday complaints and policy suggestions.

Park's office estimated that about 7,300 residents had visited the sessions through the 299th edition. The total distance Park has traveled between Seoul and Busan for the events amounts to roughly 240,000 kilometers, the office said.

Of the 1,819 complaints received to date, 888 have been fully resolved. Another 418 are being processed through consultations with relevant agencies, while 513 are still under fact-finding review.

By category, education and child-related complaints had the highest resolution rate at 61.3 percent, followed by living environment and safety at 59.5 percent. Personal consultations accounted for the largest share of submissions at 468 cases, followed by residential and redevelopment issues at 372, economic and employment matters at 189, and education and child-related cases at 168.

One of the most cited success stories is the installation of an elevator at Exit 2 of Daeyeon Station. The complaint was first raised at the inaugural session in 2020. The elevator had been deemed unfeasible for 24 years due to a narrow pedestrian walkway, but a solution was found by placing it in the space occupied by a subway ventilation shaft. It opened in November 2022.

"During my long years in public service, I watched residents wait indefinitely for answers on their complaints, and I wanted to create a communication channel where someone could tell them on the spot who would handle it, when, and how," Park said. "My conviction is that politics and administration exist to ease the burdens of the people, so even if just one person comes, I will meet them in person, listen, and keep working until the issue is resolved."

Park added that the goal going forward was to resolve every remaining complaint, and vowed to "quietly press on" toward the 400th and 500th sessions.


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