With Citizens, Preparing 'Climate Crisis Measures'... Launch of the '2021 Seoul Citizens' Assembly'

Online and Offline Public Recruitment, 1081 Selected by Random Draw Considering Gender, Age, and Residence Area

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Seoul Metropolitan Government is launching the '2021 Seoul Citizens' Assembly,' a permanent online and offline deliberation panel of about 1,000 members, to prepare citizen deliberations as countermeasures against the climate crisis.

According to Seoul City on the 25th, the city announced that it will hold the '2021 Seoul Citizens' Assembly Orientation,' an online and offline event marking the official start of activities, at the Seoul City Hall Multipurpose Hall with Mayor Oh Se-hoon and about 40 members of the Seoul Citizens' Assembly in attendance. This year, Seoul selected 1,081 citizens to participate through open recruitment online and offline, and a random draw considering gender, age, and residential area, and will present appointment letters on this day.

The 'Seoul Citizens' Assembly' is a policy deliberation forum that selects issues significantly affecting citizens' lives through consultations among citizens, Seoul City, and experts, and seeks desirable alternatives through public deliberation. Operating since 2020, it is a new citizen participation model that goes beyond simple opinion 'collection' to 'deliberation,' enabling citizens to directly seek desirable alternatives and reflect them in policy decisions.

Seoul City stated that the Seoul Citizens' Assembly members will engage in online and offline deliberation and public discussion on the agenda titled 'The Role of Seoul in the Era of Climate Crisis.' It will be operated in two parts: 'Thematic Meetings,' co-hosted with agenda-related experts and relevant Seoul City departments, and the 'Citizens' General Assembly,' where comprehensive discussions on major policies and prioritization of policy reflection are decided by citizen voting. Notably, this year, the 'Thematic Meetings,' which previously involved only citizen members and public officials, will be improved to include experts as participants.

Seoul City plans to prepare 'Citizen Action Plans for Seoul's 2050 Greenhouse Gas Reduction' by the end of August. The derived plans will be delivered to Seoul City by citizen members to be reflected in policies. In the second half of the year, deliberation and public discussion will be conducted on new agendas. The public agenda for the second half's thematic meetings, scheduled for September to October, will also be separately prepared together with citizens.

Mayor Oh Se-hoon said, “It is necessary to prepare solutions to respond to various changes our society faces after COVID-19. The agenda of this Seoul Citizens' Assembly, 'The Role of Seoul in the Era of Climate Crisis,' is also one of the major challenges Seoul faces.” He added, “We will discuss and deliberate with citizens to unite our efforts and derive solutions for citizens' lives and Seoul's future. We will create a Seoul where citizens are happy, and a Seoul of fairness and coexistence.”

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