Kim Byungnae, Mayor of Gwangju Nam-gu, Receives Top Policy Award for 'Saturday Market Opening'

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Jin-hyung] Kim Byeong-nae, Mayor of Nam-gu, Gwangju, has been named among this year’s top policy awardees by the Korea Manifesto Practice Headquarters for the Saturday Market project.

According to Nam-gu on the 10th, the Korea Manifesto Practice Headquarters announced the results of the judging for the '2021 National Basic Local Government Heads Manifesto Best Practice Competition' on the afternoon of the 9th.

The competition categories included ▲Community Strengthening ▲Anti-corruption, Integrity, and Rights Improvement ▲Job Creation and Income Inequality Mitigation ▲Response to Population Structure Changes ▲Climate and Environment ▲Electronic Democracy Enhancement ▲Regional Culture Revitalization, conducted online in a non-face-to-face format.

In this competition, Mayor Kim won the Best Policy Award in the Community Strengthening category.

The evaluation panel focused on Mayor Kim Byeong-nae’s problem-solving approach, which emphasized communication and coexistence values instead of regulation and crackdowns to resolve complex conflicts among nearby store owners, street vendors, and residents caused by illegal street vending in the Blue Road Park, a community resting area.

In particular, last year, when conflicts peaked among street vendors demanding their right to livelihood, residents whose walking rights were threatened, and store owners suffering business rights infringements due to street vending, Mayor Kim took on the role of a collective dispute mediator and was highly praised for improving the Saturday Market through continuous dialogue and communication.

Additionally, the steady increase in visitors after the establishment of the Saturday Market contributed to revitalizing the surrounding commercial district, and the park regained its former role as a resting space for residents, which also received positive reviews.

Furthermore, in a place where loud disputes and quarrels over crackdowns were rampant, the value of coexistence under the motto 'Everyone Together' matured, with street vendors, social economy enterprises, village cooperatives, and young merchants joining forces, greatly contributing to the recovery of the local commercial district and community functions, which was well regarded.

Mayor Kim said, "Thanks to harmony, consideration, and the proactive administration of Nam-gu public officials, the local commercial district has been revived, and Blue Road Park has returned to its former state," adding, "I hope the Saturday Market case in our Nam-gu will spread to local governments nationwide and help resolve conflicts."

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