Seoul City Lowers 'Citizen Audit' Request Age to 18... Foreign Residents Also Eligible to Participate

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] Seoul City announced on the 31st that it will expand the scope of the right to request a 'Citizen Audit,' which allows citizens to request audits of the city and its affiliated organizations, starting from the new year.

The Citizen Audit system allows a representative who has collected signatures from 50 or more citizens aged 18 or older, or a representative of a civil society organization with 100 or more regular members, to request an audit from the Seoul City Citizen Audit Ombudsman Committee if they judge that the handling of affairs by Seoul City or its affiliated administrative agencies was illegal or improper.

In line with the revision of the Public Official Election Act earlier this year, which lowered the voting age from 19 to 18, the city has also lowered the age requirement for requesting a Citizen Audit from 19 to 18 starting next year.

Additionally, foreign residents registered in the foreigner registration ledger within Seoul City's jurisdiction under the Immigration Control Act will also be able to request Citizen Audits.

Until now, signatures for requests were only possible offline, but they will now be accepted on the Ombudsman Committee's website as well.

Park Geun-yong, Chairperson of the Citizen Audit Ombudsman Committee, expressed hope that "this improvement will provide an opportunity for citizens to more easily and frequently utilize the Citizen Audit Ombudsman Committee and the Citizen Audit request system, which aim to review and correct city administration from the hearts and eyes of the citizens."

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