Gong Byeong-cheol, Gwangsan District Councilor in Gwangju, Receives Excellence Award at 'Manifesto Promise Awards'

'Ordinance on Support for Public Interest Litigation Costs' Selected as a Good Ordinance

Also Awarded the 'Encouragement Prize' in the Former District at the Ministry of Government Legislation's 'Outstanding Local Government Ordinances' Competition

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Yoon Jamin] Gong Byeongcheol, a member of the Gwangsan District Council in Gwangju Metropolitan City (Democratic Party, representing Sinheung-dong, Usan-dong, Wolgok 1·2-dong, and Unnam-dong), received the Excellence Award in the Good Ordinance category at the ‘2021 Local Council Members Manifesto Promise Awards’ hosted by the Korea Manifesto Practice Headquarters.

The ‘2021 Local Council Members Manifesto Promise Awards’ were selected by experts from various fields to strengthen the capabilities of local councils and build a foundation of trust with residents.

The ordinance on ‘Support for Public Interest Litigation Costs,’ which Councilor Gong proposed as the lead sponsor, was highly evaluated for being the first in the nation to establish a legal basis for supporting litigation costs related to protecting the public interest and safeguarding the rights of district residents concerning legal issues arising from public interest protection.

The ordinance allows support for not only attorney fees but also public interest litigation costs incurred in the event of losing a case, within a limit of 10 million KRW per judicial instance. This measure was recognized for preventing economically disadvantaged citizens from being deterred by litigation costs and thus unable to properly exercise their right to file lawsuits.

Additionally, at the first meeting of the Public Interest Litigation Support Committee, formed under the ordinance on October 26, a significant achievement was highlighted: the decision to partially support litigation costs for 16 households in Songjeong Supanae 2nd Apartment, who filed a public interest lawsuit against the Housing and Urban Guarantee Corporation for guarantee responsibility after the developer’s bankruptcy prevented them from exercising property rights.

Councilor Gong Byeongcheol stated, “Although it is an important social interest, many people give up their legal rights solely for economic reasons. Through support for public interest litigation costs, we will work to reduce unfair damages caused by lack of proper legal services and strive to represent the interests of many district residents.”

Meanwhile, on the same day, Gwangsan District also received the Encouragement Award at the 2021 Excellent Ordinance Awards for Local Governments, hosted by the Ministry of Government Legislation, for the ordinance on support for public interest litigation costs.

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