Gyeonggi-do Eases Minimum Number for Resident Audit Requests from 300 to 200

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Gyeonggi Province is easing the minimum number of residents required to file a resident audit request against the governor from 300 to 200, and lowering the eligible age for filing from 19 to 18 years old. With the reduced entry barriers for resident audit requests, it is expected that residents' participation in provincial administration will be revitalized.

Gyeonggi Province announced on the 5th that it promulgated a partial amendment to the Gyeonggi Province Resident Audit Request Ordinance on the 6th, which will take effect from the 13th.

This ordinance amendment follows the revision of the Local Autonomy Act, which changed the eligibility for resident audit requests from residents aged 19 and older to those aged 18 and older. The Local Autonomy Act also eased the number of petitioners required for cities and provinces from 500 or fewer to 300 or fewer.

Originally, Gyeonggi Province's ordinance stipulated a minimum of 300 residents for filing a resident audit request regarding provincial affairs, so there was no need to change the number of petitioners. However, the province revised this for the first time in 16 years, lowering it to 200 or more.

As the only metropolitan local government with a population exceeding 10 million, Gyeonggi Province now has the lowest ratio of resident audit petitioners relative to its population (0.0000175) among all metropolitan local governments nationwide due to this amendment.

The province expects that this ordinance amendment will greatly contribute to protecting residents' rights and interests, implementing resident-centered audit administration, and enhancing the fairness and accountability of administration.

Kim Jin-hyo, the province's Chief Audit Officer, explained, "If the handling of affairs under the governor's authority is deemed to violate laws or significantly harm the public interest, a resident audit request will proceed when a petition signed by 200 or more residents aged 18 or older is submitted to the head of the relevant department in charge of the affairs."

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