Seocho District head receives a phone call from her Paris counterpart

Seoul’s Seocho District head Cho Eun-hui shared COVID-19 containment strategies with its sister city in France, the district office announced Sunday.

According to Seoul’s Seocho District, Cho had a video conference with Philippe Goujon, mayor of the 15th arrondissement of Paris, for an hour from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday. The video conference was organized at the request of Goujon who expressed his wishes to learn from South Korea, Seoul’s Seocho District in particular, as it has successfully limited the spread of the virus.

Cho emphasized that her focus was on mask distribution and information sharing. “Even the introduction of a new government measure, which allows everyone to purchase two masks a week, could not allay the public concern. The Seocho District secured masks on its own and made them available for the public to buy from pharmacies at designated times and paid visits to the vulnerable to give them free masks,” she said, “For every new confirmed case, we checked the CCTV and traced the patient’s card payment to provide accurate information for the public as to the places the patient had been to.”

Cho also explained three flexible shift systems the district introduced, which allow employees to work from home one day a week, use flextime and have different lunch times. Seoul’s Seocho District and the 15th arrondissement of Paris signed an agreement in 2016 to strengthen ties and promote exchange.


will@donga.com