Mapo-gu, Seoul's First 'Online Resident Autonomy Academy' Launched

Seoul's First Resident Autonomy Education Platform Open for Everyone to Join from Home... Mapo 1beonga Expands Online Resident Participation Channel Following Collaborative Agenda Forum

Yoo Dong-gyun, Mayor of Mapo District, communicating with residents at the small public forum for discovering Mapo cooperative governance agenda items

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] A new normal is coming to the field of resident autonomy.

In the post-COVID era, where non-face-to-face and contactless interactions become more routine, how is resident autonomy, the foundation of local government resident participation administration, preparing for the new era?

Mapo-gu (Mayor Yoo Do-gyun) is planning an online resident autonomy academy with the participation of 500 residents as a new resident autonomy strategy for the new normal era.

The online resident autonomy academy is a resident autonomy education platform that any resident living in Mapo can easily participate in from home. This resident autonomy education system, open online to all residents, is the first among autonomous districts in Seoul.

Mayor Yoo Do-gyun of Mapo-gu says about this new attempt, “Resident autonomy means that residents can create the world they want. It is still insufficient. The power and rights of residents, methods of participation, and structures all need to change to fit the times.”

Last November, Mayor Yoo Do-gyun held a one-person protest in front of the National Assembly building in Yeouido, holding a placard that read “Strongly urge the National Assembly to pass the full revision of the Local Autonomy Act and related decentralization laws within the year.”

This protest aimed to realize practical decentralization by specifying previously insufficient resident autonomy elements in the law’s purpose and residents’ rights articles, establishing legal grounds for resident autonomy councils, and allowing local government institutional forms to be chosen by resident referendum.

Mayor Yoo’s will for resident autonomy has been accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since the launch of the 7th elected term, the district has operated the policy communication platform “Mapo 1st Street” to listen to residents’ voices and an online public forum to discover local cooperative agendas. Following this, in the second half of this year, it will conduct the first resident autonomy academy in Seoul with 500 residents participating in a non-face-to-face, contactless manner.

To strengthen residents’ resident autonomy capabilities, related education, which had been conducted only face-to-face, will be moved online and the scope of participants expanded.

The academy education, held online from September to October, will be composed of three themes: understanding resident autonomy, cases of resident autonomy worldwide, and village stories understood through humanities.

During the period, not only members of Mapo-gu’s resident autonomy committees and councils but also general residents can take the courses on a separate website prepared by the district.

The district’s strategy is to increase residents’ interest and participation by focusing on the basic concepts of resident autonomy and village communities through this academy education, and to maximize agenda discovery and resident autonomy capabilities derived from this to apply them to district administration.

Applications for academy participation can be made from August by visiting the resident centers of the 16 neighborhoods in Mapo-gu. In September, residents can use their personal ID and password sent via mobile text message to access the resident autonomy academy website and take the courses.

In November last year, Yoodonggyun, Mayor of Mapo District, held a one-person protest in front of the National Assembly building in Yeouido to support the passage of the "Local Autonomy Act Amendment Bill" in the National Assembly.

Residents who complete the online resident autonomy academy education will be qualified for reappointment as resident autonomy council members.

Mayor Yoo Do-gyun of Mapo-gu said, “We first opened channels to hear residents’ voices through Mapo 1st Street and the online public forum, and now we are launching the online resident autonomy academy to enhance the practical capabilities and quality of resident autonomy,” adding, “We hope many residents will show interest and participate.”

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