Gwangju Innovation Promotion Committee Recommends Strengthening Fairness and Transparency of 'Culture and Arts Private Subsidies'

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] The Gwangju Innovation Promotion Committee, directly under the Mayor of Gwangju Metropolitan City, held its 14th plenary meeting on the 21st and announced on the 24th that it had finalized the 9th administrative innovation recommendation for the ‘Transparent, Fair, and Productive Operation of Private Cultural and Arts Operating Subsidies.’

At the meeting, it was recommended as part of measures to strengthen regional cultural and artistic competitiveness through the restoration of Gwangju’s uniqueness, which the city has been aiming for since the 7th local government, to operate ‘transparent, fair, and productive private cultural and arts operating subsidies.’

This recommendation is the third in the culture and arts sector following previous recommendations on revitalizing municipal art groups and the media art creative city since the Innovation Promotion Committee was launched as a review body directly under the mayor on November 27, 2018, making it the 12th overall recommendation.

Looking specifically at the administrative innovation proposals recommended by the Innovation Promotion Committee, the goal is to operate ‘transparent, fair, and productive private cultural and arts operating subsidies’ so that citizens and cultural and artistic professionals agree on the level of support. The 27 innovation tasks are based on four fundamental directions: ▲setting the direction for private operating subsidies in line with city cultural and artistic policies ▲establishing transparent and fair support criteria for private cultural and arts operating subsidies ▲rational operation of public contest projects for private cultural and arts operating subsidies ▲strengthening productivity through thorough settlement and evaluation of private cultural and arts operating subsidies.

First, to ‘set the direction for private operating subsidies in line with city cultural and artistic policies,’ it was decided to establish cultural and artistic policy directions reflecting Gwangju’s identity and allocate budgets by sector (citizen enjoyment, fostering cultural and artistic professionals, creation of cultural and artistic works, etc.) to prepare appropriate standards for private subsidy support.

Additionally, in supporting private subsidies, a sectoral budget allocation system (quota system) was introduced to reflect social values (women with disabilities, emerging artists, etc.) and Gwangju’s identity (May 18, human rights, and the spirit of Gwangju).

To ‘establish transparent and fair support criteria for private cultural and arts operating subsidies,’ prohibitions on operating expense support without legal grounds, introduction of a fair competition public contest system, and sunset clauses for subsidy projects were introduced. A pool of experts from inside and outside the region was established, and an expert committee was formed and operated for selecting subsidy project operators.

Furthermore, comprehensive consideration of the nature and effectiveness of subsidy projects led to recommendations for differentiated city financial burdens, verification of project duplication, integration of similar and linked projects, and setting appropriate subsidy ranges by project type.

In particular, setting appropriate subsidy ranges aims to support competitive cultural and artistic works by providing subsidies at an appropriate level (scale) through ‘selection and concentration’ according to the nature of the project, rather than uniform subsidy standards.

For the ‘rational operation of public contest projects for private cultural and arts operating subsidies,’ criteria for selecting subsidy project operators were presented in advance, contests were held at specific times, and measures to prevent concentrated support for specific operators (organizations) were implemented to guarantee all operators the right to be fairly reviewed.

Practical exercise of supervisory authority by city officials, monitoring and consulting of subsidy projects, introduction of a one-strike-out system for corrupt operators, and a public interest reporting system were implemented to strengthen administrative accountability for subsidy projects and prevent corruption at its source.

To ‘strengthen productivity through thorough settlement and evaluation of private cultural and arts operating subsidies,’ settlements were conducted for the entire project cost of private subsidies, and the results were made public on the city’s website. Effective evaluations of subsidy projects were conducted, and the results were reflected in the next year’s project plans to establish a systematic evaluation management system.

Absolute evaluations based on pre-set evaluation indicators and relative evaluations comparing with other subsidy projects were introduced to ensure a substantial evaluation system.

Going forward, the Innovation Promotion Committee will continuously monitor implementation by requiring the city, which received the 9th administrative innovation recommendation, to prepare and report detailed implementation plans within three months.

Meanwhile, at the plenary meeting, 10 new members were appointed targeting young entrepreneurs and young social and cultural activists.

This new member appointment targeted young people actively working in the region to actively reflect the voices of local youth in discovering administrative innovation agendas.

The newly appointed members include young entrepreneurs and young social and cultural activists representing the region from various fields such as Bugak Village (1913 Songjeong Market), Yangin Bakery, Witches Co., Ltd., Gwangju Youth Center The Soop, Youth Union, and the Wagle Foundation.

Joo Jeong-min, chairman of the Gwangju Innovation Promotion Committee, said, “This recommendation for innovation in private operating subsidies also aims to strengthen regional cultural and artistic competitiveness through the restoration of Gwangju’s uniqueness, following previous recommendations such as revitalizing municipal art groups and the media art creative city. We will continue to discover cultural and artistic innovation measures and work together with the committee members to help Gwangju establish itself as a city of culture and arts.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.