Daegu City and 21 Other Local Governments Selected as Outstanding Participants in 'Resident Participatory Budget'

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] The Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced on the 16th that it has selected 22 local governments, including Daegu Metropolitan City, Siheung City in Gyeonggi Province, Seocheon County in Chungnam, and Eunpyeong District in Seoul, as excellent organizations for successfully operating the resident-centered 'Resident Participatory Budget System.'

The Resident Participatory Budget System has been mandated and implemented since 2011 under Article 39 of the Local Finance Act, allowing residents to directly participate in the budgeting process of local governments to enhance budget transparency. This year marks the 4th year of the '2020 Excellent Local Government Selection,' with a total of 105 cases submitted from 84 local governments. Among them, 14 were selected in the comprehensive category and 8 in the special award category.

The comprehensive category was evaluated by local government type (special/metropolitan cities and provinces, cities, counties, districts), and presentation evaluations through video conferences were introduced to enhance the quality of the assessment. Especially this year, as resident participation became difficult due to the spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the efforts of various local governments to overcome this challenge stood out.

In Daegu City, Siheung City in Gyeonggi Province, and Eunpyeong District in Seoul, online general meetings were held to provide opportunities for residents to participate in the budget process from anywhere. Additionally, non-face-to-face channels were strengthened by opening cyber lectures for education on resident participatory budgeting and establishing online voting systems for project selection.

In the special award category, Jeonbuk Wanbu County, Incheon Bupyeong District, and Goyang City in Gyeonggi Province were selected for achieving remarkable results in areas such as 'Youth and Young Adult Participation,' 'Resident Education,' and 'Public Relations.' Considering the disparities in system operation depending on the characteristics of each local government, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety explained that they focused on evaluating improvements compared to last year and discovering best practices.

The Ministry plans to compile these excellent cases, including projects that residents directly experience on-site and system improvement suggestions discovered locally, and share them with all 243 local governments.

Park Jae-min, Director of the Local Finance and Economy Office at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, said, "By sharing excellent cases, we will bridge the gap in the operation of the Resident Participatory Budget System among local governments and further enhance the transparency and accountability of local financial management by ensuring resident participation throughout the entire budgeting process."

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