Working Together on Local Issues Is Not Difficult

Seoul Gangseo-gu to Operate 'Co-Governance Agenda Online Proposal Corner' Until the 31st

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] #While large supermarkets have banned the use of plastic bags, traditional markets are exempt. After one shopping trip, black plastic bags pile up. Recognizing this problem, residents proposed setting up a reusable shopping bag rental station in a corner of the market. This was soon selected as a cooperative governance agenda and led to the ‘Shared Shopping Bag Project with Residents’ in collaboration with the market merchant associations at Songhwa Mural Market and Hwagok Bon-dong Market. The results were positive. Plastic bag usage decreased by 30%, and residents responded favorably.

Mr. Moon ○○ from the Songhwa Market Merchant Association said, “As awareness of environmental issues spreads, residents’ satisfaction with the reusable shopping bags was high,” adding, “I hope cooperative governance projects continue to focus on what residents truly need.”

Gangseo-gu, Seoul (Mayor Noh Hyun-song) is actively working to discover cooperative governance agendas to solve local issues.

The district announced that it has established an ‘Online Proposal Corner’ to allow residents to directly suggest solutions to local problems.

This is intended to provide residents with opportunities to participate in district administration and to jointly discover local issues that can be solved through public-private cooperation.

Anyone interested in solving local problems can participate.

Proposal areas include education, culture, economy, jobs, welfare, community, environment, and all aspects of district administration. Any local agenda that can be planned and executed through public-private cooperation is welcome.

Proposals can be submitted until the 31st via the ‘Cooperative Governance Gangseo website - Open Forum - Cooperative Governance Agenda Proposal Corner.’

Submitted proposals will undergo feasibility review, agenda discovery public forums, sector-specific 50+ cooperative governance tables, online resident voting, and other deliberation processes before being selected as final cooperative governance agendas.

The selected agendas will be concretized in the ‘2022 Community Innovation Plan’ to be implemented as actual projects. After final approval by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, they will be actively promoted from next year by working groups composed of public and private partners.

A district official stated, “We hope many residents will show interest and participate so that many agendas that resonate with residents and have practical effects can be discovered,” adding, “We will continue to do our best to ensure cooperative governance becomes a driving force for district development and a core value.”

Meanwhile, this year the district is promoting 10 cooperative governance projects discovered last year, including the ‘Resident-Created Safe Living Village,’ as public-private partnership projects.

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