Citizen Audit Ombudsman Committee to Hold 5th Anniversary Event on the 21st... Online and Offline

On the 21st at Seoul-On Video Studio in Dongdaemun Design Plaza
Held under the theme "Examined through Citizens' Eyes and Corrected with Citizens' Hearts"
Announcement of Citizen Voting Results on Outstanding Cases of Citizen Rights Protection and Administrative Improvement

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Seoul Metropolitan Citizen Audit Ombudsman Committee announced on the 20th that it will hold a 5th anniversary commemorative event under the theme "Observing with the eyes of citizens and correcting with the hearts of citizens" on the 21st at the Seoul-On video studio inside Dongdaemun Design Plaza.

The Seoul Citizen Audit Ombudsman Committee was launched in February 2016 as an independent collegiate administrative body directly under the mayor, performing roles such as resolving citizens' grievances and monitoring and auditing the fairness and transparency of city administration.

The event will be attended on-site by Lee Jeong-hee, Vice Chairman of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, and Jeong Ki-chang, the inaugural Citizen Audit Ombudsman Committee Chairman. Congratulatory video messages from Lee Hyun-chan, Chairman of the Seoul City Administrative Autonomy Committee, and ordinary citizens will also be received. Due to COVID-19, about 100 people including nationwide ombudsmen, district ombudsmen, citizen participation ombudsmen, and general citizens will participate both online and offline.

At the commemorative event, six outstanding cases will be selected and announced from among 30 cases that protected citizens' rights and improved administration. A total of 1,881 citizens participated in the event held over seven days until the 13th. Selected cases include those that enhanced transparency, such as recovering excess travel expenses and issuing caution regarding plagiarism in result reports during overseas trips by district council members (audit field), and cases that improved rights, such as payment of weekly and holiday work allowances to municipal waste cleaning workers (audit field).

In the second part of the event, a talk show will be held with five panelists and participants both online and offline to promote citizens' understanding and participation in the Citizen Audit Ombudsman Committee. Attendees include Shin Min-chul, Director of Urban Management Research at Seoul Institute; Oh Young-eun, Ulsan Metropolitan City Citizen Complaint Committee member; Lee Sang-min, former Citizen Participation Ombudsman; Park Ae-ran, current Citizen Audit Ombudsman Committee member; and Park Geun-yong, Chairman of the Citizen Audit Ombudsman Committee.

Regarding the path the Citizen Audit Ombudsman Committee has taken and the way forward, Chairman Park Geun-yong will give a keynote presentation, followed by an open and informal discussion and Q&A session to create an opportunity to contemplate the future direction of the committee together with citizens.

Chairman Park Geun-yong of the Citizen Audit Ombudsman Committee said, "Although five years have passed since the committee was launched, many citizens still do not know well about the Citizen Audit Ombudsman Committee." He added, "Through this event, we hope to inform citizens about the committee, attract their interest, and create an opportunity to get closer to citizens as an institution for protecting citizens' rights and monitoring city administration."

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