Seunghee Woo, Jeonnam Provincial Assembly Member, Points Out the Need for a Comprehensive Review of Youth Policies

Seunghee Woo, Jeonnam Provincial Assembly Member

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Jun-kyung] Woo Seung-hee, a Jeonnam Provincial Assembly member (Yeongam 1, Democratic Party), pointed out the need for a comprehensive review of the youth policy projects and implementation system promoted by Jeonnam Province.

According to Assemblyman Woo Seung-hee on the 9th, after reviewing the "Status of Youth Policy Departments in Cities and Provinces Nationwide" submitted by Jeonnam Province, it was found that while most metropolitan local governments have established dedicated youth policy divisions with youth policy teams and youth job teams to enhance policy focus and efficiency, Jeonnam Province’s related projects have been carried out individually.

Jeonnam has 8 personnel across 2 teams, whereas the numbers are ▲Seoul 48 ▲Busan 21 ▲Daegu 19 ▲Daejeon 16 ▲Gwangju 14 ▲Gyeongbuk 20 ▲Gyeonggi and Gyeongnam 17 ▲Chungbuk and Chungnam 10, respectively.

Also, the rank of youth policy officers in each city and province is mostly at the national division level, ranging from grade 3 to grade 2 in metropolitan cities, while only Jeonnam and Gyeongbuk have grade 4 officers in charge.

Assemblyman Woo Seung-hee said, “In Jeonnam, youth policies and various support projects are promoted separately by the Population and Youth Policy Office and the Job Policy Headquarters,” adding, “Due to a lack of linkage between projects, policies are not being implemented from the perspective of youth as policy consumers but tend to be carried out from the viewpoint of public officials or the older generation.”

He continued, “Although youth opinions are reflected through ‘Youth Voices,’ communication is often formal through meetings rather than everyday interaction, and it is not being activated,” emphasizing, “Since the 6th local government administration, Jeonnam has focused on youth issues and created nationwide project models like ‘Youth Village to Tomorrow,’ but the youth population in Jeonnam continues to decline, and there are many opinions that jobs are insufficient.”

He then stated, “Policies and budgets should be implemented closer to the lives of young people to give the impression that Jeonnam’s youth policies have undergone a revolutionary change,” and demanded, “It is time for a comprehensive review of the implementation system by integrating the responsible departments to enhance collaboration and focus, as well as examining ranks, personnel, and job content to improve the efficiency of youth policies.”

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