변화와 갈등의 기로에 선 강남: 행정 혁신과 사법적 잣대 사이의 현주소 > 뉴스

Recently, the Supreme Court issued a ruling imposing strict standards on companies regarding tax benefits for knowledge industry centers, attracting the attention of the industry. In a lawsuit filed by K2 Korea, a mountaineering equipment company, to cancel the acquisition tax correction, the Supreme Court overturned the original ruling and ruled in favor of the district office. The key point is that the name ‘Knowledge Industry Center’ does not automatically entitle it to a tax reduction, and the legal interpretation has been made that manufacturing facilities such as machines and devices to actually conduct manufacturing must be equipped on site. This is an incident that sounds an alarm on the practice of many companies enjoying tax benefits from knowledge industry centers while outsourcing manufacturing or operating mainly in office space. This ruling is interpreted as reflecting the judiciary's strong will to restore the original purpose of the system, ‘fostering urban high-tech manufacturing,’ and prevent the indiscriminate expansion of tax benefits.

In the area of ​​administration, the ‘Gangnam Open School’ project, which aims to directly improve the quality of life of residents, is achieving remarkable results. Gangnam-gu has been actively pursuing a policy of opening up idle spaces in schools to residents in order to solve the chronic problem of lack of sports facilities due to dense residential and commercial facilities. This project, which started with only 6 schools in 2023, achieved the feat of expanding to 23 schools in just 4 years through persistent communication and customized incentive support from the district office. In particular, the key to success was that careful consideration was given to installing CCTV, repairing old facilities, and supporting dedicated personnel to reduce the burden of management costs and concerns about safety accidents, which were the biggest concerns at school sites. This is evaluated as having established an exemplary model in which schools and local communities coexist, and is setting a standard for expanding sports infrastructure in urban areas.

Gangnam-gu, which is celebrating its 9th popular election, has entered into a transition committee system, drawing a grand blueprint called ‘Great Transformation of Gangnam’, led by President-elect Kim Hyun-ki. The transition committee, which recruited former Seoul administrative mayor Kim Eui-seung as chairman and is comprised of 15 experts in various fields, is focusing on designing key policies that will determine Gangnam's future for the next four years beyond a simple handover. In particular, work is in full swing to translate future growth engines and lifestyle-related pledges, such as robots, MICE, welfare, and architecture, into a concrete roadmap. President-elect Kim Hyun-ki emphasizes rapid changes in administration and is showing his determination to create practical policy results that residents can feel. The local community's expectations are very high on how the president-elect's rich experience as a four-term city council member and chairman of the Seoul City Council will lead to administrative innovation in Gangnam.

However, there are also many administrative challenges and flaws that Gangnam-gu must resolve. The ballot shortage that occurred during past elections is remembered as a painful example that exposed loopholes in the election management system. At the time, the Gangnam-gu site was aware of the shortage of ballots in advance and reported it to the National Election Commission, but the response was consistently delayed, adding to the inconvenience and confusion of voters. This administrative vacuum has raised voices calling for a reexamination of the crisis response capabilities of the entire system beyond simple negligence on the part of practitioners. In addition, while cultural festivals such as the Gangnam Picnic Concert are successfully held and bring great joy to residents, a true ‘great transformation of Gangnam’ will be possible only when past cases that undermined the trustworthiness of the administration are thoroughly reflected upon and efforts are made to strengthen the system to prevent recurrence.