Oh Se-hoon, the Seoul mayor, said on the 20th, "Health gaps are gaps in life," adding, "Today, I will make 2026 the 'year of escaping obesity in Seoul.'"
Oh said in a post on social media (SNS) titled "A city that takes responsibility for health, that is Seoul," "The Seoul Metropolitan Government has not left citizens' health solely up to individuals."
He said, "Seoul has become, in name and reality, the city that walks the most in the country through 'Wrist Doctor 9988,' in which 2.8 million citizens participate," adding, "The numbers prove how citizens' daily lives can change when we move with sincerity."
According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the walking practice rate of Seoul citizens, which stood at 55% in 2021, jumped to 62.3% in 2022 when 'Wrist Doctor 9988' went into full swing. Last year it hit a record high of 69%. That is 20 percentage points (P) higher than the national average.
Oh added, "Going further, we changed eating habits with 'Refreshing One Meal' and the 'Less Sweet Project,' and through the 'Seoul Fitness Ground' and the 'Physical Fitness Certification Center,' citizens can measure their fitness anywhere and receive customized exercise prescriptions."
He continued, "But when we first started these policies, there was considerable opposition," adding, "Regarding 'Wrist Doctor 9988,' the Democratic Party, then the opposition, criticized it as a vote-buying policy, and some said they could not understand the public sector taking care of individuals' health."
Oh said, "The role of administration should not stop at resolving citizens' inconveniences; it should go further to changing the standard of citizens' lives," adding, "Health is the most basic condition of life and the starting point of a happy life. Reducing health disparities and ensuring that everyone can enjoy the right to be healthy—that is the first step toward 'Seoul, the No. 1 city in quality of life.'"
He added, "Even so, we still have a way to go," noting, "Our reality is that health still varies depending on where one lives and what environment one is in."
Oh said, "Seoul's health policy is taking another leap," and introduced health-related policies.
He said, "We will make healthy meals a choice of everyday life, not a special choice," adding, "We will expand 'Refreshing One Meal' to 10,000 and broaden it to universities and workplaces so that anyone can access healthy meals in daily life."
Oh also said, "Exercise must change," adding, "It should not be something that requires time and expense, but something anyone can do naturally, anytime, anywhere. We will turn places across the city—subway stations, the Han River, and plazas—into exercise spaces within citizens' daily lives and make Seoul a 'city within exercise reach.'"
He continued, "We will greatly expand the Seoul Fitness Ground so people can manage their fitness anywhere within their daily living areas," adding, "So that health is not determined by economic circumstances, we will provide vouchers for the use of sports facilities to citizens at high risk of obesity, enabling anyone to start exercising without burden."
Oh said, "I am convinced that the standard of citizens' lives changes depending on how far a city takes responsibility," adding, "Seoul is now moving beyond being a city where people merely live day to day, to a city where people can live healthier lives, a city with a different level of quality of life."
He added, "We will surely complete 'Special Seoul for a healthier quality of life.'"