Chairman Kang Chan-won of Yeongam County Council Honored with 'Nationwide Best Chairman Award'

Legislative Achievements with 60,000 Residents, Widely Recognized as the Nation's Best Council

Most Prestigious Local Council Award, Triumph as the Nation's Top Chairperson Selected

At the 15th Korea Legislative Awards ceremony, Chairman Kang Chan-won received the "Nationwide Best Chairman Award." (Photo by Yeongam-gun)

[Yeongam＝Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Seo Young-seo] On the 26th, the Yeongam County Council in Jeollanam-do announced that Chairman Kang Chan-won received the "National Best Chairman Award" at the "15th Korea Legislative Awards" ceremony held on the 23rd at the Seoul Air Force Hotel.

The Korea Public Autonomy Research Institute hosts the Korea Legislative Awards, organized by the Korean Local Autonomy Association. Established in 2007 and now in its 15th year, the awards aim to promote productive legislative activities in local councils, realize the proper image of councils, secure responsiveness to residents' administrative needs, establish a trustworthy image of council members, and support an evaluation system that allows local councils to self-assess their legislative activities.

This award marks the first time a chairman of the Yeongam County Council has received it, and Kang Chan-won was selected as the second recipient among chairmen in Jeollanam-do, achieving a significant accomplishment by widely publicizing legislative activities shared with 60,000 county residents nationwide.

Chairman Kang Chan-won has set five major legislative policies: steadfast legislative activities grounded in basics, a welfare Yeongam where all residents are happy, resident stability and regional economic revitalization, strengthening the executive branch’s oversight and monitoring functions with harmonious cooperation, and realizing an open, working, and communicative council. Since the launch of the 8th council’s second half, he has been actively carrying out vibrant legislative activities.

In particular, he has achieved great results as a representative body faithfully performing its communication channel function with residents by adopting a resolution urging measures for compensation for natural disasters affecting crops, opposing the Yeongsan River reclaimed land solar power project and urging special countermeasures to protect agriculture, the county’s key industry, urging special measures for fruit tree cold damage, and urging the payment of disaster living expenses related to COVID-19.

In October last year, through a meeting with heads of agricultural and livestock cooperatives for agricultural development, he conveyed the difficulties faced by farmers whose rice harvest rate decreased by more than 30% due to unprecedented long rainy seasons and typhoons, achieving the result of raising the advance payment from 61,000 won to 65,000 won to compensate income losses.

Additionally, by focusing on field-centered legislative activities that seek answers on-site and fully activating council functions through council questions and administrative audits, he has pointed out 55 policy proposals and 34 improvements in county policies, fulfilling the role of a steadfast council that does what it must and speaks out, faithfully performing oversight and monitoring functions of the executive branch.

To prevent the spread of COVID-19, he adjusted the schedule of temporary sessions as a preemptive response, concentrating administrative power on stabilizing people’s livelihoods. Through special lectures on budget review techniques by invited experts, the council conducted thorough reviews of the 2021 budget and has been forming and operating member research groups since last year to accelerate the development of new policies in agriculture and tourism.

Chairman Kang, a native of Samho-eup and a three-term council member, has served as the chairman of the Economic Construction Committee in the 7th council, chairman of the Autonomy Administration Committee in the first half of the 8th council, and chairman in the second half. He has carried out various legislative activities for stabilizing people’s livelihoods, revitalizing the local economy, and improving resident welfare. He has been highly praised for playing a leading role in guiding an advanced council of communication and coexistence by visiting living sites and considering even the smallest voices of residents.

Chairman Kang Chan-won said, “I am grateful to the 60,000 residents of Yeongam County for their unwavering support and to my fellow council members for their cooperation in legislative activities,” adding, “I will continue to keep my original intention, think only of the residents, and do my best for the welfare of residents through field-centered legislative activities.”

Meanwhile, the National Best Chairman Award is the most prestigious and honorable award in the evaluation of local councils. It selects the final recipient through three stages: first document screening (qualitative and quantitative evaluation), second interview screening, and third final screening by a professional review committee formed based on four evaluation items?individual achievements, work promotion ability, policy coordination ability, and capacity development?and seven evaluation indicators including outstanding achievements, conflict resolution activities, regional project solutions, external negotiation activities, professional skills, and self-development.

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