Seodaemun-gu Expands Resident Autonomy Committees to All 14 Neighborhoods

Completed Placement of Dong Community Support Officers and Conducted Training for Related Staff

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Seodaemun-gu (Mayor Moon Seok-jin) will expand the resident autonomy councils, which have been operating since 2018 in five pilot neighborhoods?Cheonyeon-dong, Yeonhui-dong, Hongje 1-dong, Namgajwa 1-dong, and Bukgajwa 1-dong?to all 14 neighborhoods this year.

To this end, the district completed the establishment of office spaces for the resident autonomy councils and the placement of autonomy support officers in all neighborhoods within this month.

Starting in August, the district plans to sequentially carry out ▲committee member recruitment and public lottery ▲resident autonomy school operation ▲election of executives and secretaries, aiming to complete the formation of the resident autonomy councils with an inauguration ceremony in December.

To facilitate smooth preparation for the formation of the resident autonomy councils, on the 17th of this month, the heads of the 14 neighborhoods and autonomy support officers gathered to share experiences from the pilot neighborhoods and explore the proper direction for the autonomy councils.

Additionally, a workshop to anticipate potential issues arising during the formation process of the resident autonomy councils and to seek solutions will be held for the nine expanded neighborhoods.

The ‘resident autonomy council’ is a self-governing body where residents directly decide and implement various projects related to daily life.

Compared to the existing ‘resident autonomy committees,’ which were limited to operating resident centers and providing administrative advisory functions, the councils have expanded authority.

The resident autonomy councils in the five pilot neighborhoods of Seodaemun-gu have been promoting village projects through democratic decision-making at each residents’ general meeting, and despite the difficulties caused by the spread of the novel coronavirus this year, they are carrying out 26 projects proposed by residents.

Currently, the number of committee members in the five pilot neighborhood resident autonomy councils is about 50 per neighborhood, totaling 237 members.

Residents wishing to participate in the resident autonomy councils can apply for committee membership starting in August and must complete six hours of resident autonomy school education.

If the number of education completers exceeds the recruitment quota, committee members will be selected through a public lottery. The term of office for committee members is two years, and residents from the existing five pilot neighborhoods can also apply as the second-term resident autonomy councils are formed.

Mayor Moon Seok-jin stated, “We hope many residents will take interest and participate in the resident autonomy councils, which will be formed based on community spirit and democratic participation. We will focus the district’s capabilities on supporting the resident autonomy councils that will realize grassroots autonomy and decentralization.”

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