Gwangju City Bitter Criticism Committee Proposes "City Committee Allowances to Be Paid via Sangsaeng Card"

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Gwangju Metropolitan City held the 4th meeting of the ‘Gwangju City Candid Opinion Committee’ on the afternoon of the 25th in the city hall’s medium conference room to hear various opinions from citizens on overall city administration.

At the meeting, among a total of 16 proposed agenda items based on opinions shared by the committee members through general and subcommittee sharing channels, four major items were intensively discussed, while the remaining 12 were reviewed in written form.

The committee first proposed four items: ▲ Strengthening care and childcare for infants, young children, and adolescents ▲ Urgent establishment of measures to restrict single-use products in public institutions of Gwangju Metropolitan City ▲ Payment of attendance allowances for all committees operated by Gwangju Metropolitan City in local gift certificates ▲ Utilization plans for the Gwangju Video Complex Cultural Center.

In response, the city explained the current support for childcare and care at child welfare facilities, principles for providing childcare subsidies and facility support funds, and management status, and announced the plan to assign dedicated officials for child abuse response in 2021 to strengthen child abuse countermeasures.

It also stated that it will actively promote comprehensive welfare services for vulnerable groups in childcare, fitting for Gwangju as a city favorable for raising children, and will continue to thoroughly manage child welfare facilities, subsidy recipients, and usage status.

Regarding measures to restrict single-use products in public institutions, the city explained that it had set 17 detailed projects across nine tasks in four major areas in 2020 and was promoting them, but faced difficulties in full-scale implementation due to COVID-19. It added that once the COVID-19 situation eases, it plans to strongly promote the original plan to curb single-use product usage in public institutions.

Additionally, the Candid Opinion Committee proposed that attendance allowances for committees operated by the city be paid in the local gift certificate, Gwangju Sangsaeng Card, instead of cash. The purpose is to revitalize the local economy through the use of the Gwangju Sangsaeng Card. The city stated that while it cannot mandate this for all committees, it will recommend it.

Furthermore, it was proposed to use electronic banners and tumblers instead of single-use products during meetings to practice reducing single-use product usage and to recommend this to all committees.

Accordingly, the Candid Opinion Committee decided through consultation among members to allow those who wish to receive their attendance allowances via the Sangsaeng Card starting from this meeting as a way to lead by example.

Regarding the utilization plan for the Gwangju Video Complex Cultural Center, it was explained that the center is fostering specialized personnel by integrating surrounding cultural content and other industries, and that it continues to operate cultural content projects without limiting itself to the film industry.

It was also added that various facilities in the region, including the Video Complex Cultural Center, CGI Center, and Content Startup Incubation Center, are each specialized and operated according to their purposes.

The remaining 12 proposals were reviewed by the relevant departments and discussed in writing.

The agenda items proposed through prior activities included ▲ Strengthening rental age criteria for rental car companies in Gwangju ▲ Homeless shelters for people sleeping in subway stations and local areas ▲ Raising awareness for vulnerable groups ▲ Hosting the 5th Korea Youth Day in Gwangju Metropolitan City ▲ Investigation and countermeasure preparation for child abuse within households in Gwangju Metropolitan City ▲ Controversy over high apartment prices in Central Park District 1 ▲ Disclosure of COVID-19 vaccine distribution order ▲ Issues with private park special projects in Gwangju Metropolitan City due to the 2020 urban park sunset clause ▲ Distribution of integrated manuals on quarantine guidelines and personal information management related to COVID-19 visitor logs ▲ Improvement of streetlights and security lights that brighten Gwangju’s nights ▲ Securing public parking lots for freight trucks in Gwangju Metropolitan City ▲ Price surveys and price stabilization campaigns in Gwangju Metropolitan City.

Chairperson Kim Kyung-hee emphasized, “Our committee’s role is to deliver vivid voices of people’s livelihoods, jointly consider areas needing improvement in city administration, and propose improvement plans,” and stated, “We will make meaningful proposals for Gwangju’s development.”

Mayor Lee Yong-seop said, “The discussions of the Candid Opinion Committee members have become more passionate than before, and the proposals and ideas are composed of topics that citizens can feel in their daily lives, becoming a driving force for Gwangju’s development through active communication,” adding, “We will humbly accept active interest and criticism regarding city administration and do our best to create a ‘just and prosperous Gwangju,’ so I hope the Candid Opinion Committee will vividly convey the voices of citizens.”

Meanwhile, the committee has proposed a total of 68 city administration improvement items through three meetings so far, of which 38 are being promoted or planned, 25 completed, 3 not reflected, and 2 under long-term review.

In particular, regarding the method to resolve abandoned vehicles proposed at the 3rd meeting, the city conducted a comprehensive crackdown in January and achieved results by identifying 217 unauthorized abandoned vehicles.

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