Gwangju City, First Nationwide to Establish and Implement Social Value Application Standards

Gwangju City Hall

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Gwangju Metropolitan City announced on the 8th that it will be the first in the nation to establish social value application standards so that social values contributing to public interest and community development can be concretized in the public sector, and will fully implement them starting this month.

These standards were prepared to reflect social values in overall city administration in accordance with the "Basic Ordinance on the Realization of Social Values by Public Institutions in Gwangju Metropolitan City," which Gwangju City enacted as the first in the nation at the end of last year.

The target areas include all fields such as social, economic, environmental, and cultural aspects, which are core values of government innovation.

To concretize the abstract concept of social value in administration, Gwangju City referred to cases from the UK and other countries and incorporated expert opinions from the public-private innovation council to establish applicable relative and procedural values as application standards suitable for Gwangju.

Through this, universal social value-centered policies (projects) such as health and welfare and support for small and medium enterprises are specified by categorizing them into subsidy and consignment projects, mandatory service provision based on law, and support for socially vulnerable groups (low-income, disabled, etc.) to ensure no neglected areas.

General policies (projects) such as social infrastructure (roads, buildings, etc.) construction, maintenance (repair, upkeep, etc.), transportation, and industrial promotion will be implemented reflecting social values such as safety management (industrial accident prevention, etc.), citizen pedestrian convenience, barrier-free access (for disabled, pregnant women, women, etc.), and consideration for social minorities (vulnerable groups, etc.).

When promoting projects such as expanding infant and toddler facilities, the opinions of local residents will be actively reflected, and cultural and artistic activity support projects will prioritize support for cooperatives centered on young artists.

To this end, Gwangju City will have related departments and public institutions set goals for policies or projects reflecting social values in the first half of this year and prepare concrete plans to realize them, supplementing any shortcomings through mid-term inspections.

Also, in the second half of this year, a "Social Value Committee" centered on private experts will be formed and operated to perform roles such as planning review, inspection, evaluation, and consultation for the realization of social values to spread social values throughout the public sector of Gwangju City.

Furthermore, projects reflecting social values will be prioritized in the 2021 budget by including them in budget formulation guidelines, and social values will also be reflected in department evaluations (self-assessments) and public institution management evaluations.

In addition, next year, a five-year "Gwangju City Comprehensive Social Value Plan" covering overall city administration will be established and implemented, and an evaluation and reward system will be prepared to reward excellent departments and institutions based on the evaluation.

Lee Jeong-sik, the city's Innovation Policy Officer, said, "For the 7th elected administration's innovation to achieve results, the core value of social value must be concretized in city administration," adding, "The social value application standards, established for the first time nationwide, are meaningful in that they present a concrete direction for administrative innovation."

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