Seo Jeong-hoon, Head of NGO Center, Elected as Chairman of the 2nd Gwangju Citizens' Rights Committee

Mayor Lee Yong-seop Urges “Fulfilling Role as an Open Communication Channel”

On the afternoon of the 24th, Lee Yong-seop, Mayor of Gwangju Metropolitan City, attended the appointment and dismissal ceremony of the Citizens' Rights Committee held in the City Hall Business Room, taking a commemorative photo with former Citizens' Rights Committee Chairman Choi Young-tae, 2nd term Chairman Seo Jeong-hoon, and new committee members. Photo by Gwangju Metropolitan City

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] The Gwangju Metropolitan City Citizens' Rights Committee held its 25th plenary meeting on the 24th at the Multipurpose Room of the Work-Family Balance Support Headquarters and elected Seo Jeong-hoon, director of the Gwangju NGO Center, as the chairman of the 2nd term. Seo Jeong-hoon, director of the Gwangju NGO Center, has been leading changes in civil society while actively participating at the center of the Gwangju civic movement for over 20 years.

The Citizens' Rights Committee has been active since its launch in July 2018.

During this time, he served as the chairman of the Transportation Regeneration Construction Subcommittee, which had many agenda items, proposing solutions from the citizens' perspective and passionately carrying out citizens' rights activities while listening attentively to even small voices.

Chairman-elect Seo Jeong-hoon said, “So far, the Citizens' Rights Committee has operated stably around the chairman and achieved many results. As we enter the 2nd term, we will renew our determination and listen more actively to the valuable proposals of citizens.”

He also pledged, “To protect citizens' rights and realize their interests, we will revitalize subcommittees, strengthen expertise, and promote on-site listening and discussions to raise the level of policy recommendations.”

The Citizens' Rights Committee was launched as the first step in fulfilling Mayor Lee Yong-seop of Gwangju’s promise to implement citizen-centered administration, and has been led by Chairman Choi Young-tae until now.

The committee gained significant external attention when it successfully facilitated public discussion on the construction of the city’s major challenge, the Urban Railway Line 2. The public discussion led by Chairman Choi Young-tae is regarded as a successful model of public-private cooperative governance.

Since then, it has established itself as a communication channel representing citizens' voices by proposing solutions and policy suggestions not only for major conflict issues such as the relocation of the military airport but also for citizens' grievances and inconveniences.

Former Chairman Choi Young-tae said, “Meeting many citizens over two years and ten months was enjoyable and fulfilling. I wanted to realize democracy in daily life and discovered achievements and possibilities.” He added, “Since the Citizens' Rights Committee was born to soothe citizens' pains and think together from the beginning, I hope it will never lose its original intention and always work on the side of the citizens.”

Mayor Lee Yong-seop said, “I express my respect and gratitude to former Citizens' Rights Committee Chairman Choi Young-tae, who has taken the lead in resolving divisions and conflicts in the local community and improving citizens' rights in their daily lives.” He added, “I hope the 2nd term committee, chaired by Seo Jeong-hoon of the Gwangju NGO Center, will deeply embrace the saying ‘통즉불통 불통즉통’ (meaning ‘Communication leads to understanding; lack of communication leads to misunderstanding’) and continue to serve as an open communication channel.”

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